Skylanders: Savior Rising
by CynderFanForever
Summary: After the Battle of the Ruins, where Spyro was severely injured by Kaos, Cynder has gone missing. Spyro rounds up the Skylanders once more to find her. Meanwhile Spyro must deal with nightmares that end with two evil red eyes. Where is Cynder? What do the red eyes mean? And who do the eyes belong to?
1. A Happy Morning

**Alright guys, here's book 3. I am sorry for not updating the story too quickly last time halfway through because of school, and I promise I will be as quick as I can this time, so 1-2 weeks will be the update time you'll have to wait for. This story and the rest will become much darker, and so blood will be prominent during many of these chapters. Finally, have a great day, and God bless!**

* * *

**Skylanders: Savior Rising**

**Chapter 1**

**A Happy Morning**

Spyro opened his eyes, smiling to himself, happy that the Battle of the Ruins was now over. But it had been at a price. The leader of the other side, Kaos, had injured him, breaking his right ribcage. But his mate, Cynder, had been able to scare him away, and after only one night's sleep, it seemed more peaceful than usual.

Spyro realized he was still in the medical tent, and hoped that Cynder would be coming in soon to see him.

He saw Cali standing near him, watching. When he fully opened his eyes, he saw that she was smiling.

"How do you feel?" she asked. "You've in a deep sleep."

"I feel good, despite the pain," he answered her. "Do you know where Cynder is, by the way?"

"No. She's probably in your treehouse, still asleep. Do you want me to go and get her?"

"No. Let her sleep. She deserves it more than anyone, if you ask me. She's the one who defeated Kaos, and saved me from being killed."

"That's true. Anyway, I'm going to get Stealth Elf to help me with healing you. Your ribcage is still broken, but not as much as it was yesterday."

Spyro was happy at hearing this, knowing the amount of pain he'd been in when Kaos was attacking him.

He thought of Cynder, and how thankful he was to her. She was his mate, and she'd done more for him recently than he'd done for her.

_Thank you, Cyn,_ he thought.

Memories of the past began coming to him. He remembered when they'd first met, although she hadn't been on the side of good. Instead, she'd been on the side of evil.

As an egg, she'd been taken by the army of the evil Purple Dragon Malefor and corrupted. Becoming larger and more powerful than any normal Dragon of her age, she went around Skylands, becoming the most feared monster, being called the Terror of the Skies.

Spyro had first found her in Shattered Island while finding Dragons she'd kidnapped, and when she first appeared to him, she started trying to kill him.

She failed, but Spyro soon tracked her down once more in her own lair, and then in the strange world of Convexity, where he'd also first met her master, Malefor.

After defeating her for the last time in battle, she returned to her normal size, and Malefor, angry at Spyro for defeating his general, escaped.

After Cynder had recovered, she and Spyro joined the Skylanders, with Cynder attempting to redeem herself for her past actions, although only a few of the Skylanders now knew of her past.

Three years later, the Ruins had been attacked by the little tyrant Kaos, and during the battle, Cynder had been hit by a large troll and knocked unconscious. She'd then been taken by Malefor, who had returned from hiding to become more powerful and return Cynder to being his general.

Spyro began searching for her, and after a week of doing so, was finally able to find her, although in the world of Convexity, and once more under Malefor's control.

After a long battle, Spyro had finally defeated her and once more returned his mate to her normal self. Cynder had then ended Malefor with a large blast of electricity.

Although it had been peaceful afterward, Kaos had come back to kill all the Skylanders, and so began a grueling battle that had resulted in many injuries.

By the end of the battle, Kaos had been captured, but was then freed by a robot. Cynder had gone straight through the creature and destroyed its mechanical heart, defeating Kaos and ending the battle. But Kaos had injured Spyro before being scared away by Cynder.

And now he was here, in the medical tent, recovering from his injuries. He just hoped they would heal soon before another fight broke out.

He was just waiting for Cynder to come and help him feel better.

He saw Stealth Elf enter through the front of the tent. She was happy to see him recovering well, knowing the beating he'd gone through.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him softly.

"Good. I just need to see Cyn. Do you know where she might be?"

"No. But I'll ask someone to go and get her for you. Would you like me to do that for you?"

"Yes, please."

She went back outside, and when she reentered the tent, Sunburn was following her with a solemn look upon his face, sorrow in his fiery red eyes.

"Sunburn, what is it?" Spyro asked. "What's wrong?"

"It has to do with Cynder," he told him. "She's missing."

"What?" Spyro started sweating, frightened. He was hoping that it wasn't true, that Cynder was somewhere around, where nobody could see her. "Have you checked around?"

"Yes. She's missing, and we don't know where she might have gone, and not even Sonic Boom knows. I asked Hex, too, and she doesn't know," Sunburn explained quickly.

"We need to find her, and I mean it," Spyro said. "I don't want to have to go through this again. The last time it happened, both of us were scared near death, and I both of us had to deal with seeing Malefor again, whom both of us and Hex believed was dead. I don't want to go through anymore Hell, especially not since the last time."

Sunburn understood well, although he did not truly know how Spyro felt. He loved Sonic Boom, but she'd never gone missing, unlike Cynder.

Hex came through the tent's opening flap. She had the same solemn expression on her face as Sunburn had.

"So you know about Cynder?" she asked Spyro.

"Yes, and once I'm healed, we need to set out to find her, before something terrible happens. Have you looked everywhere around the Ruins?"

"Yes," Sunburn said.

"Then the best thing to do is to wait, and if she doesn't return by tomorrow, then we will be setting out again. I know this is almost like last time, but it's the best thing we can do. She's my mate, and I've promised to never leave her behind. I'm in her debt, as well, because when I lost my powers, she proved that she was strong enough to get past the things that held her back after the battle with Malefor, and defeat Kaos. When Kaos was beating me near an inch of my life, she came through and saved me just before he got me with the deathblow. Because of this I need to find her and help her with whatever is bothering her. Will you guys follow me?"

"I will," Sunburn said.

"I will," Hex said. "Should I go ask the others to come along? Whirlwind, Sonic Boom, and the others?"

"Yes. I'm sure they'll be coming, because all of them now trust Cynder. Make sure, though, and then tell me."

"How long will it take for your ribs to heal completely?" Hex asked.

"Probably two more days," Spyro said. "It helps to have healers who know what they're actually doing."

"Alright. We'll be leaving you alone for now. I'm sorry this had to happen," Sunburn comforted. "Hopefully it won't take too long to find her."

He began leaving, and when he was finally gone, Hex looked right at Spyro.

"I don't know what's going on, but one thing I know for sure is that you know what you're doing," she complimented. "You're the one of the Dragons I trust most. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have such a good friend leading the Undead element. I hope you heal soon."

As she made her way out of the tent, Spyro stopped her.

"Wait," he said. "Who's the Dragon you trust most?"

"Cynder. She's a great leader, and an amazing friend, and luckily I know how she feels about her past, what she has to deal with. Heal soon, Spyro."

She left, leaving only Spyro.

He laid his head down on the pillow, hoping to sleep peacefully, and most of all, to find the Dragoness he loved.

I just hope it doesn't turn out like last time.

_Come, Spyro. Come into the darkness so that I can help you. I cannot go into the light, because it hurts me more than anything. You and Cynder are the only ones who can help me._

_Come before the time is up, before it is too late. If you do not come within the time I set before you, then you will face the most dangerous of consequences._

_Just as the dream began ending, two evil red eyes appeared, along with an evil snarl._

"AHHH!" Spyro jumped right up in his bed, feeling pain in his side. He tried to understand what the dream meant, who it had been talking to him.

It all scared him, but what scared him most were the red eyes that had appeared at the end. It made him curious, wanting to know what those were supposed to mean more than anything.

Stealth Elf rushed into the tent.

"What's wrong?" she asked him. "What happened?"

"I had a nightmare," he told her. "I don't understand exactly what it meant, but what I know for sure is what I saw at the end of it, and it scares me more than anything."

"What did you see?"

"I saw these evil red eyes, which just looked right at me, and that was when I woke up. It scares me so much, because I felt almost as if those eyes were staring right into my soul. I want to know what it truly meant!"

"Alright, calm down. What you need to understand is that we will be finding Cynder soon. Yes, we've gone through this before, but that last time we succeeded in finding her. We just need to be sure that nothing bad will happen to her before we're able to find her. Now, about your dream. What I believe those eyes were supposed to mean was that you have enemies who hate you, who want you dead. But the truth is, despite the fact that there are those kinds of enemies, such as Kaos, you have those around who love you. Cynder is the best example for this. If she hadn't loved you, then she would have possibly allowed Kaos to kill you, or injure you even worse. You need to trust in the fact that she won't stop loving you, and nor will all the friends you have. Many of the Skylanders love you as if you're their brother. But most of all, Cynder loves you as her mate. You need to think of Cynder when it comes to these things, and I believe that all these nightmares will soon end. Okay?"

"Okay," he finally said, breathing in and out, trying to stop the sweat streaming down his face.

"Do you think you might be able to fall asleep on your own, or do you think you need help?"

"I'll do my best to do it on my own. Thanks. But what I hope most is finding her right now."

"We will find her, don't worry. I'll make sure your ribs are healed soon, you don't have to worry. I'll be coming with you guys this time to help you find her. Hopefully Cali won't have her hands full while I'm gone."

"Alright. Thank you for what you said to me. Thank you for everything. You're definitely one of the best Skylanders I know. It's not a wonder Eon made you leader of the Life element."

"Thank you."

Spyro laid his head on the pillow once more, still not understanding exactly what the red eyes meant, or who the eyes actually belonged to.


	2. Looking All Over

**Chapter 2**

**Looking All Over**

Sonic Boom stood at her balcony, tears streaming down her face, not knowing how she was able to take it. She had just lost her best friend, and she'd done almost nothing to stop it.

She was the only one who truly knew of what had actually happened, which was something she hated. She wished that the other Skylanders could know, but none of them, she believed, including Spyro, would be able to take it the right way, whether they trusted Cynder or not.

Sunburn laid on their bed, still fast asleep. Sonic Boom looked at her mate, wishing she had the strength to tell him everything. But it just wouldn't come.

She looked over into the eastern part of the sky as the sun began rising, and thought of all the times Cynder had been there for her, as well as when she'd been there for Cynder, from when Sonic Boom had joined the Skylanders only a week after Cynder had, to where Cynder needed someone to talk to after being saved from Malefor's evil clutches.

She wondered if Spyro had learned of Cynder's disappearance yet, if his mate was gone. But she knew she'd find out sooner or later.

Sonic Boom heard Sunburn stirring behind her and looked over at him. As he opened his fiery yellow eyes, she smiled at him, as did he.

"Good morning," he greeted softly. "How do you feel?"

"Okay, I guess," she lied. "I'm just stressed from the battle and what happened to Spyro. You know, the usual. Do you know if he's awake or not?"

"No, I don't," he said. "But I think when I go see him, I'll go get Cynder first. She'd be happy to see him. What'll you be doing?"

"I might just go over to Shattered Island for today. If Cynder asks where I am, just tell her to meet me there, okay?" Sonic Boom smiled at him one last time, and then took off into the sky.

As she flew, she once more thought of Cynder, and wondered what terrible torture she was now going through. She wished the black dragoness had never made the terrible deal. Although it had been one that had included saving Spyro, there had been a devastating price involved. But Sonic Boom didn't know if the price had been the same as Cynder had said or if the little tyrant Kaos had double-crossed her and done something else.

It took her thirty minutes to get all the way to Shattered Island, where she saw all the broken-up islands. She remembered having come to the same place to find Cynder after she'd been taken by Malefor.

One of the Mabu looked up and waved at her. It was Quigley, the little Mabu who had asked all the Skylanders strange questions after they'd come to help save the islands from Kaos.

Sonic Boom landed and looked around. She then turned to Quigley, who was smiling very brightly, without any pain.

"Hey Quig," she greeted. "How's everything going for you?" She forced a small smile.

"It's okay," he said. "You know, school never really helps anyone, especially waking up for it, you know?"

"Um, not really. Anyway, I'm looking for a friend of mine. Have you possibly seen a black dragoness anywhere? She has metal bracers around her ankles with spikes, a choker with spikes, and her black scales have a very violet-like hue. Do you know who I'm talking about?"

"Are you talking about Cynder, or someone else?"

"Yes, Cynder. Have you seen her at all in the past few days?"

"Well, I'm not the best person to ask. You should probably go into town and ask some of the townspeople. They would know better than me."

She nodded at him, and then began making her way into town. She saw some of the Mabu staring at her, and knew it wasn't the best place for a griffiness to be, as female griffins were very rare.

She saw the town hall, and entered through the front door.

One of the main guards stopped her as she attempted to make her way through the entrance to the mayor's office.

"Whoa, why are you here?" asked the guard.

"I'm here to talk to the mayor. I need to know if he might have seen or talked to someone. Please, I'm one of the Skylanders."

"Usually, the mayor says that the main Skylanders he'll talk to have to be captains or Spyro. I think he also mentioned Cali. Anyway, are you a captain of an Element?"

"Yes, I'm the captain of the Air Element. I just want to talk to the mayor, please. It's not an emergency, I just need to ask him a few things."

"Alright then, please go right on through."

Sonic Boom continued on into the mayor's office. She saw the fat Mabu mayor look up at her, a smile on his face.

"Well, well, if it isn't one of the Skylanders. It's nice to meet you!" he said in an excited voice.

"My name is Sonic Boom. I'm the captain of the Air Element," she told him. "I need to ask you a couple of things."

"Like what?"

"Do you remember when a few of us came her to find someone about a week or so ago?"

"Yes, I do. Is this the same sort of situation, or something different?"

"The same sort. One of our friends has gone missing. Her name is Cynder, she's the captain of the Undead Element. I just want to ask you if you've seen her at all. She's a black dragoness with silver metal bracers on her ankles, a silver choker around her throat, a bracer on her tail, big blue eyes, six horns on her head, and markings around her eyes. Her scales also have a violet-like hue. Have you seen anyone around her that looks like her?"

The mayor looked at her strangely, and then answered.

"No, unfortunately. I wish I had, because I would love to help you find your friend, but I'm not sure I can tell you if she's been around. I'm sorry about that."

Sonic Boom got up and began leaving the room. "It's alright," she said. "I just want to find her soon, because this is starting to worry me."

"Don't worry, it'll probably all get resolved sooner or later," the mayor told her happily. "And once it does, I might come to the Ruins to meet you all!"

Sonic Boom didn't say anything back, her head hung.

Once she was gone, the mayor's expression became that of anger and deviousness.

"We ned to make sure that her little dragoness friend, Cynder, never returns," the mayor said. "I know who she's talking about: the infamous Terror of the Skies. From what I've heard, she's attempted to redeem herself by joining the Skylanders. Amazingly, she even became a captain. Hmph. Make sure that if you actually see her, kill her on sight!"

"Yes sir," said the security guard. "What about the griffiness? What do we do about her?"

"If she comes back, knock her unconscious, and then we can kill her. Another thing we should do is find Kaos. I have some words for him..."

* * *

Sonic Boom couldn't believe she'd come to Shattered Island for nothing. Cynder hadn't even been seen, and that was the worst part of it all.

She wanted to make sure her best friends was safe and not hurt, and to make sure Kaos hadn't done anything to her. But at that moment, she began to lose some of her hope.

What can I do? she thought. Should I just return to the Ruins and tell Spyro that I was unable to find her? Sooner or later, he'll find out, especially because Sunburn already said he'd go to their treehouse to get her. Now it's not going to be helping at all. I don't know what kind of an excuse I can make.

She opened her wings to fly once more into the air, and began making her way to the Ruins.

Cyn, I know you can't hear me, but I just want you to know that I need you to come back. I don't know how some of us will be reacting at all, because without you, nothing will be the same anymore! If only Kaos had never threatened Spyro at all, then this never would have happened, and you wouldn't be missing all over again. Hopefully it never turns out like last time did. If it does, I'll never be able to truly recover, nor will any of the other Skylanders. I just need to make sure that nothing bad happens now between us all in your absence.

After another thirty minutes, she landed near the Core of Light, where she saw the medical tent, and that there was movement going on inside. She saw Sunburn appear, and then took a deep sigh, realizing that he'd found out.

"Sonic Boom!" he called to her. "I have bad news. Cynder's missing, and we don't know where she is. Would you know at all?"

"No!" she lied. "How is this possible? She should be around, shouldn't she? Did you check everywhere?"

"No, and I'll be going down into the Underworld, but if we don't find her there and she doesn't come back in the next few days, I have no idea what we can do. This is not a good time for all this to happen, especially not with Spyro just waking up today!"

"How's he taking it so far?"

"He's scared, just like all of us. We don't know what could have happened, since she was here last night! Did you see her at all over at Shattered Island?"

"No. But for right now, let's stick to the objective of finding Cynder and helping Spyro to heal. Come on, let's ask him where we should go once he heals up completely, okay?"

When they entered the medical tent, they saw Stealth Elf leaving, who gave them a grim expression. Spyro laid there in front of him with an expression of fear on his face. He saw them, and Sonic Boom saw that his eyes were beginning to tear up.

"Spyro, don't worry, we will find her," Sonic Boom vowed. "We just need to make sure we know where we can possibly find her. Do you know the place we should go when you heal up? Shattered Island won't be the right place, because I went there just to be there, and she wasn't there at all."

"I don't know. For right now, we need to wait," he told her. "We can't just go all around like last time, because last time many things happened, including some of us being injured." He remained silent, and then his eyes widened. "Wait a minute...do you guys remember the strangers?" After they both nodded, he continued on. "While I was fighting one of them, they had Eon's sword with them. I forgot about it when he was killed by Cali. But we need to go there and check it out. After that, we come back here and plan it all through. Do you agree with me?"

"Yes," said Sunburn.

"Yes," said Sonic Boom. "But what about the others? Whirlwind and all them? Should we get them to help us?"

"They will be coming," came Hex's voice from outside the tent. She entered with a small smile on her face. "I asked them all, and they all said yes. Now what we need to do is get ready for this. Should we go to Shattered Island?"

"No, I've already gone there," Sonic Boom told her. "I asked around if they'd seen her, but they didn't say anything, unluckily. But we could always try the Underworld again. I wonder if there's some way that she could be down there, or if there's something we could find down there that might act as some evidence for us. Oh, how I wish this wasn't like last time!"

She walked out of the tent and saw her other friends coming towards her. Whirlwind didn't look like her normal self, with dark black rings underneath her eyes, caused by the stress of the last battle with Kaos. Camo stood next to her.

"Do you know what happened?" Whirlwind asked. "How did Cynder go missing all over again?"

"I don't know," Sonic Boom admitted. "I just need some time to get this all through my head. She's my greatest friend, and without her, I don't know what I can actually do!"

Sonic Boom realized that she was sounding like Spyro, but knew that she was unable to help it, since she cared so much for the black dragoness.

"This isn't a good time for this to happen!" Camo exclaimed. We just finished a battle, and Spyro got his ribs broken, which left Cynder probably feeling terrible, and now she's gone missing! What in the heck is Skylands coming to?"

Sunburn looked over to Whirlwind.

"Me and you will be going down into the Underworld together to learn if there is anything we might be able to find. Hopefully there will be some sign of Cynder down there. If not, then there we'll just be returning here."

Whirlwind nodded, but Sunburn and Sonic Boom both saw her hesitation, and they couldn't blame her. After all, the Underworld was a dark and evil place, and not many were known to not be afraid of it.

"I'll stay here and make sure whether or not she returns here," Sonic Boom told them. "It's possible, and I'm sure this won't exactly be like last time...or so I hope, at least."

"What should I do?" Camo asked them.

"Go over to Leviathan Lagoon and ask the natives if they've seen her or not," Sunburn suggested. "I just hope they're not angry at us for the battle with the strangers."

"Wait!" came Spyro's voice from inside the tent.

"What is it?" Sonic Boom asked as she entered, the others behind her.

"When I was fighting one of the strangers at Leviathan Lagoon, they had Eon's sword, with the amethyst in the pommel, and the one that was said to have been lost in the Battle of the Outlands," Spyro explained. "We don't know what happened to it after that stranger was killed, because I forgot during our little battle. When you go there, ask the natives if they found the sword at all. We need it back, because it might help us."

Camo nodded, and smiled in a grim sort of way. Sonic Boom noticed that that kind of a smile was all anyone was ever doing now, mostly due to the past events.

"Is there anything else?" Sonic Boom asked, finding it hard to get the words out of her throat. "Should we do anything else?"

"No. I just want Cynder to be found. Let's hope I can get out there soon, because I really want to help you all. She's the Dragoness I love, and all I'm doing is laying here, injured and sleeping! I should be up and helping you all, helping her! How in the heck is this ever going to help anything in my life?"

"Stop!" Sunburn snapped. "You know you're wrong! Right now, you can't do anything, not as long as your ribs are healing! Cali and Stealth Elf can hurry to fix them up, but don't surprised if they can't do it as fast as you hope!" His voice became softer, but he was still unhappy towards Spyro's words. "Look, we all want to find her, and we've all gone through this before. Keep your faith with you, because that's what truly helps in the end. Okay?" He nodded at him, and then left the room, Whirlwind close behind him.

"What should I do?" asked Spyro. "What can I do?"

"Maybe you should just talk to Hex. She might be able to help you, just like she helped Cynder," Camo told him. "I hope to see you return on the field with us very soon."

He then left the medical tent. Only Sonic Boom remained.

"I'll stay with you for right now. I know the feelings you're going through. Cynder told me about that night after we saved her, when you found her by the Core, how you both talked. When she finished telling me, she began crying. When I saw it, it helped me to know exactly how much she loves and cares about you, and I thought that even more when she saved you from Kaos. She came in right at that time, and she was able to scare the little idiot away. She's amazing, and one thing I know for sure is that you need to keep on to her. She's been through too much for you to leave her, and the same goes for you. When I first joined the Skylanders, I didn't know what to think of you two. I did notice how amazingly beautiful she was, and how much she liked you. I see how deep your love is for her, and it is with that that I must say, I will do anything in my power to help you find her. She will be fine, trust me."

Spyro gave her a very tired and weak smile, and he felt the pain from his broken ribs returning. He knew it was time to take the medicine that had helped with healing them.

"Can you go get Cali for me?" he asked. "I need to take the medicine right now. It's been helping me with my ribs, and since the pain's returning, it's time for me to drink it."

Sonic Boom finally left the tent, leaving Spyro alone, which made him feel strange. He knew he'd get Cynder back, that she would be okay, and that she had only left for a short amount of time. He just knew it was true!

He saw Sonic Boom once more enter the tent, with Cali very close behind her.

"So you need to take the meds?" Cali asked. "Alright then." She made her way over to a cabinet and took out a small bottle filled with a strange-looking green liquid. "Here you go. After about two more days, your ribs should become completely healed, and you can go on searching for Cynder. Do you know what happened?"

"No, but I want to make sure that it's not something that will cause her to be in danger. If so, then I don't know what I'll do," Spyro explained to her in a very soft voice.

"Alright. Well, take it, and we'll let you sleep."

After drinking the liquid, he suddenly became drowsy and fell into a very deep sleep. Sonic Boom watched as he did so, hoping that she would be able to save Cynder, knowing what she had actually done, and the consequences that would come of her actions.


	3. The Dark Meeting

**Chapter 3**

**The Dark Meeting**

The mayor of Shattered Island knew how dangerous it was for him to be doing such a thing, but he didn't care for the Skylanders, believing that they were nothing but a disgrace to Skylands.

"You had better not betray me, Kaos," he thought to himself.

One thing he knew for sure was who Cynder was. He was surprised that she had been able to join the Skylanders somehow, but thought of it as a ruse by an evil monster Dragoness, who ruled the skies with terror, ruthlessness and ferocity.

He saw the castle, having learned of it from someone he'd once worked with. They were now, secretly, a soldier for the small little tyrant.

He saw the front door of the castle open, with the old friend, another Mabu, holding the door for him.

"Hello Schyler. Long time, no see," the mayor said. "How is working for Kaos?"

"It's good, although I am a little scared now," Schyler said. "Anyway, I shall be leading you to the master now. Or, as we say now, the little tyrant."

"Hm...Anyway, there is something that I must tell you."

"And what would that be?"

"You need to make sure that I am not found to have been in any part of what I shall be asking Kaos."

"You have my word. Now, do you still fight at all?"

"Not as much. Of course, if I'm cornered by someone, then I might fight back, but I've never been given that chance, unluckily. So now, which room is this little tyrant hiding himself in?"

Schyler took him down the hall to the only room whose door was closed. As Schyler opened it, he whispered to the mayor, "Good luck." And then, as he closed the door, the mayor heard, "You're gonna need it!"

The mayor looked in front of him and saw Kaos sitting there on a throne made of a dark gray stone.

"So you made it!" exclaimed Kaos. "I was hoping you'd be coming sooner or later. After all, I know what the Skylanders are doing now. They came to Shattered Island, didn't they? They asked you questions, did they not? If so, then that's a very good thing."

"They came asking me very strange questions, about a Black Dragoness named Cynder, and there was truly only one reason it was all so very strange."

"I understand that, because if I were you, I would be the same way, and if I were you, I'd be very scared right about now."

"Why?"

"You'll know sooner or later. But first, tell me what it is that you want."

"I do not believe the Skylanders are helping Skylands at all. They are hurting not only the sheep, but this realm, and we need to make sure that all the Skylanders are killed! The inhabitants might not know just yet what they've done to us, but they will once we kill show the Skylanders' true ways and kill them."

"That might be a little harder than you believe, mayor."

"And why is that?" snapped the mayor.

"Because the Skylanders will fight back, and the last time they fought back, they won. But of course, I still had one little bit of victory with me."

Confused, yet interested, the mayor wanted to press on, but decided against it.

"What should we do if the Skylanders decide to fight back?" the mayor asked. "There are so many of them!"

"But their leader is crippled. During the last battle, he fought back against me, and I broke his ribcage. Of course, his mate caused me to flee, but he is too wounded to continue on, both physically and mentally. You do remember the saying that a team without a leader will fail as soon as they go into battle?"

"Yes, but they've won so many! I don't remember them having ever lost a battle!"

"They haven't, but it has to happen sometime!" Kaos laughed his high-pitched laugh, causing the mayor to feel weird. "I believe we might be able to get the upper hand in the next battle, all because of one thing."

"And what would this 'one thing' be?" the mayor snapped at him. "You're throwing out little bits of information to me, but none of this crap is making sense! Who the heck are you speaking of? Who is the one who will help us to get the upper hand on the Skylanders? Can't you give me a sign?"

"If you wish..." Kaos went into a fit of laughter, shaking in his throne. "Come and show yourself, slave!"

The mayor didn't know what Kaos was talking about at first, but suddenly what the mayor had thought had been red curtains began moving, and a large Black Dragon raised its head up at him.

Trembling with fear, the mayor felt that he recognized the Dragon, but couldn't place it. It took him a while to speak, looking the Dragon over.

Almost all of the rest of its body's scales were black, although they had a violet hue to them, with its chest scales being a bright ruby red. Its eyes were a deep dark red, which made the eyes seem to stare even deeper into the mayor's soul.

"Who is this slave of yours?" whispered the mayor. "Who is this Dragon?"

"She was once a member of the Skylanders. I'm surprised you don't recognize her, because this here is Cynder, once the Terror of the Skies when Malefor was still around. But now she will be the Terror of the Skies once more, under my command!"

"So you kidnapped her?"

"No. We made a deal to finish a battle there at the Ruins, which was for it all to end and for her to be corrupted so that the others would be saved, and even though I went over the edge and nearly killed the Skylanders' leader, Spyro, who is also her mate, she came to me anyway! Now I will be the ruler of Skylands, and no one can stop me!"

The mayor began laughing himself. He couldn't believe that it had been that simple to do such a thing. But he did know that it was dangerous to be so close to the Black Dragoness, especially in the form she was in.

"So will you ever bring her back to her normal self?" the mayor asked. "Or will you keep her this way forever?"

"She shall be this way forever, because I want her to be my general! Malefor had his chance, and now that he's gone, it's my time to have her! Take that, Skylanders!"

"So now what will happen? Will you send her after the Skylanders, or will you keep her here until the right moment comes up?"

"I might allow a little glimpse of her, but I won't have every single Skylander see her. We have to wait for the perfect moment, and when that moment comes, they will all be killed. But the main question is, what shall you do if you are found to have had a role in this little plan? It'll be a disappointment to the inhabitants of Shattered Island if they found out! You'll even be impeached!"

"I need help with that. But who can help me? You most certainly can't! You're the most-wanted little tyrant here in Skylands! Of course, the Skylanders should be the most-wanted, but that won't be happening for a while..."

Kaos smiled mischievously, a plan forming in his mind. He was ready for his true plan to come into place, for it would be the surprise of all surprises.

"Well, what I will do for you is make sure the Skylanders are killed, and afterward, Cynder will become your slave. You can do whatever you wish with her!"

The mayor looked over at the Black Dragoness. She was staring right back with her own evil stare. Despite knowing the fact that she could kill him real easily, he wanted to make sure the Skylanders would never return and that he would become the overlord of all of Skylands.

"So what shall you do when it is all over, Kaos?" the mayor asked. "Why don't you keep the little freak?"

"I wouldn't call her little, but I do count her as being a freak. She nearly killed me the last time we fought. I think what I shall do is build up my army and go across Skylands, killing whoever comes into my way!"

"Don't you do that already?"

"Yes, but in a much different way than I want to do. With Cynder, I shall be unstoppable! And you shall be by my side, enjoying all the riches that come along with it."

"I will enjoy that," the mayor said. "When should we allow the inhabitants of Skylands to first see her? And when shall we have her attack the Skylanders?"

"For the first glimpse of her, we shall wait until next week. As for having her kill the Skylanders, that will have to wait for a little while. Well, it's been nice chatting with you, but I have plans to look over. I'll talk to you again soon!"

The mayor knew that their meeting was now over. Although he was wishing to talk more with Kaos, he wanted to still keep the feeling of suspense in with him. He was ready for the big surprise, and would make sure that it would all end up in the way that he wanted it to.

Once the mayor had left the castle, Kaos turned to the Black Dragoness who stood by him, chained and corrupted.

"Once you kill the Skylanders, I want you to kill the mayor. Do you understand, my slave?"

"Yes, master," Cynder hissed.


	4. Sword of Eon

**Chapter 4**

**The Sword of Eon**

Camo knew what he needed to do. Now that he had arrived in Leviathan Lagoon, he knew he needed to find the sword. But his only true problem was the fact that Spyro had never told him what the sword looked like.

_I can't blame him for that, though. He's tired and he's hurt_, Camo thought to himself. _I just need to deal with what I know at this moment. It's the only way. Once this is done, we can find Cynder._

He made his way over to the local village, where the Gillmen were talking amongst themselves outside of their homes. When they saw Camo, they suddenly became very quiet.

"Do any of you know where I can find your leader?" Camo asked out loud. "Where is Otoro?"

"I am here," came an elderly voice from by the lagoon. A yellow Gillman appeared. He was tired-looking and deathly. "What is it that you want?"

"I came here to ask you a few questions," Camo said. "Right now, we're looking for a friend, and so Spyro sent me here to look for not only her, but also a sword he said he saw during the siege. Do you know anything about what I am talking about?"

"Yes, I do, but I must warn you to be careful here," Otoro warned him. "We have enemies watching us. The only reason I am not coming much more out into the open is because some have already attempted to assassinate me. The other Gillmen believe it is because I trust the Skylanders."

"Why do you think it is?" Camo asked.

"I believe it is because of that, but it is right to trust you. You saved us from an unimaginable fate when the strangers arrived. Yes, our lagoon was stained red by the blood of both our enemies and my own race, but that does not mean we must stop our trusts and beliefs. I believe that it will be the Skylanders who defeat Kaos once and for all!" As he was saying this, he was leading Camo to one of the homes. Camo guessed it was Otoro's home.

As they entered, Camo saw there were no decorations, that it was almost completely empty. It gave him a strange feeling, but disregarded the feeling and continued on inside.

"What could I help you with?" Otoro asked. "I heard your words outside, but I would like to hear them again, just in case."

"Okay. We're looking for a friend of ours. Unluckily, it's the same friend we were looking for when we last came here. We recovered her last time, and she's gone missing once more," Camo explained.

"Ah. How tragic."

"And then there's a sword that we need to find. Spyro said he'd found it on one of the strangers when we fought here. I'm not sure if that stranger was eaten by the Leviathan, or if that was the one Cali killed, but we need to find the sword. According to Spyro, it belonged to Master Eon before his death."

Otoro's eyes opened wide when he heard whom the sword had once belonged to, and smiled.

"I know what you're talking about," he told Camo. "And I know where it is. But first, I must know more of your little friend. How special is she truly?"

"Very. She's one of the strongest of the Skylanders. And she's also Spyro's mate. It's thanks to her that Spyro's still alive, actually, because Kaos nearly killed him during our last battle. She drove Kaos off, but we haven't seen her since then, and it's been a couple of days. Spyro, I, and those who trust her are starting to get worried."

"What is her name?"

Camo hesitated, not wanting Otoro to realize who he was actually speaking of, as Cynder had once been an antagonist towards Skylands. Although she was now a Skylander, almost none of them knew her past, and that was the way she, Spyro, and the others who knew the secret wanted it to be.

"I can't say, Otoro," Camo finally said after a small silence. "I'm sorry. But she is a Dragoness, if you must know. Right now her name is supposed to stay with those in the Skylanders who trust her, because of what some might do with that name."

Otoro nodded.

"There is only one problem, my friend," he said. "You must die."

The last three words took Camo off-guard.

"Wait, what?" he exclaimed, astounded. "What in the heck are you talking about? This is insane!"

"It's not my doing. It's theirs." Otoro pointed behind Camo, and when he turned around, he saw a few soldiers dressed all in black, watching him.

"Who in the heck are you guys?" Camo yelled.

"We cannot say," one of the soldiers said.

"All we can say is that the one we serve wants you dead," another soldier told him.

Camo readied himself for a battle. He'd gone through a lot of fighting recently, and although he was severely exhausted, he believed he could still fight well.

"Don't even dare to screw with me right now!" he yelled at them. "I'm exhausted, I'm missing one of the greatest friends I'll ever know, and I'm really angry. You don't want to know what happens to me when I get real angry!"

One of the soldiers, with utter carelessness, started making his way over to Camo, holding his spear up, ready to stab the small Hybrid with it.

Camo released a large Sun Burst, which incinerated all but one of the soldiers. The only one left suddenly began cowering in fear.

Camo saw his attack had caught the house on fire. He turned back to Otoro, although he knew it was sort of a stupid thing to do with a soldier behind him.

"You need to get out of here," he said. "The Lagoon won't be able to thrive without you as their leader. Now run to wherever the safest place in Leviathan Lagoon is! I'll hold off the soldiers while you do!"

Otoro nodded. When Camo turned around, he saw that the soldier had left, too scared to continue fighting one of the Skylanders.

Camo and Otoro hurried out, trying to find a way to escape from anymore oncoming soldiers.

Of course, Camo hoped against such a thing, but it didn't help him. There was a whole group waiting for them. Camo rolled his eyes, hating the fact that he was having to deal with this.

"Ready for your end, little one?" one of the soldiers asked Camo.

"No. But I think you are," Camo replied. He attacked as hard as he could, using every ability he had in his body.

After a short while, he was ready to collapse, sweating and gasping for air. That was his mistake.

One of the soldiers hurried at him, and despite his attempts to defend himself, the sword came down and stabbed into his left shoulder.

A long, deep gash was there now, and it was bleeding badly. Holding the wound, Camo looked right at his advesary, fire in his eyes.

"You're not as strong as I believed a Skylander would be," they said to him. "Are you going to cry now that I said that, little one? Are you going to go home to your Element Leader and cry? Aw, go ahead, I'll take care of the old fish behind you."

Camo turned around, and as the soldier laughed, he smiled. Whirling back around, he blasted the soldier with his Sun Burst, ending him.

"Don't screw with a Skylander, especially one who's a Hybrid," Camo said. He turned back to Otoro. "We need to get out of here, and quick. Please tell me the sword isn't far away!"

"It's not," Otoro assured him. "We need to get your shoulder patched up."

"Don't worry about that. We need the sword and for you to be safe. Come on!"

Otoro lead him, with Camo watching as well as he could, searching for any soldiers who would attempt to kill either him or the Lagoon leader.

Several times Camo thought he'd caught a glimpse of a group of soldiers, but he didn't know if they were really there or not, and brushed it off.

"There it is," Otoro said, pointing to a small pagoda. "Inside is the sword. I will show you, and then we shall leave. I am coming back to the Ruins with you. I want to be safe."

"I understand." He kept following Otoro as well as he could, as the pain in his shoulder was preventing him from keeping a clear mind.

They entered the pagoda. But as soon as Otoro closed the doors behind them, soldiers jumped out from their hiding spots.

"I can't fight them," Camo said, referring to his shoulder. "It's too painful."

"I understand. Create at least one distraction, and when that is done, we will be out of the room."

Camo released another Sun Blast, which caused parts of the pagoda to fall apart. Hurrying through the thick smoke, Otoro and Camo reached a large, circular room.

"And there it is," Otoro said, pointing. He quickly closed the doors to the room, whispered something to a device on the wall, and the doors locked.

_How do I get it?_ Camo thought.

But before Camo could ask Otoro the question, a large robot broke through the walls and entered into the room. Inside was one of the soldiers.

"Oh crap, not now!" Camo said to himself.

"Welcome to the end!" the soldier announced. It sent a blast at them that knocked Otoro unconscious, but Camo had dodged and was not hit.

The robot crashed through the glass to retrieve the sword, but Camo followed and found himself underneath both the room and the pagoda itself.

He hit the ground hard, but was uninjured by the fall. He looked over at his shoulder wound and sighed.

_Forgive me, Whirlwind_, he thought. He snarled at the robot, ready to attack it.

"Come and get some!" the soldier yelled at him. Using the robot, he sent several rockets at Camo.

He ran as fast as he could, dodging the rockets. Then he saw the next attack waiting to happen: a plasma blast from a device on the chest of the robot.

The blast came right at Camo, who had no idea what he was to do. He sent a Sun Blast at it, which, to his amazement, sent the plasma blast right back at the robot, "wounding" it.

The soldier was frustrated, wanting badly to kill the Skylander, retrieve the sword, and make his master happy, as well as his master's commander.

The robot jumped up and down causing large rocks to fall down and nearly crush Camo.

_Holy crap, that was close!_ he thought when one fell right in front of him. He knew that the Sun Blast would most likely be the only attack that would wound the robot, and nothing else.

After the rocks had finished falling, the robot picked up the sword and slashed it down, sending a blazing firewall at Camo. Camo dodged, but could feel the heat even feet away. It hit one of the walls, destroying it completely, only molten rock being left behind.

Then there was the next plasma blast. Camo was about to send it flying right back when a second appeared. His eyes widened, but he still used his Sun Blast. It sent both back, but then the robot exploded, sending Camo flying into a wall, as well as the soldier.

Feeling hot blood drip down his face, Camo realized there was a cut just above his right eye.

He had closed his eyes during the explosion, and when he opened them again, he noticed that the sword had slid right over to him, unscratched.

He smiled and was about to pick it up when the same soldier piloting the robot appeared again and stepped on Camo's right paw.

"No, no, no!" the soldier teased him. He then stepped on Camo's paw a whole lot harder, and that was when Camo heard a snap, and he felt the worst pain ever in his life. "Don't even dare."

Camo's anger had become too much for him to handle, and he suddenly blasted the soldier with a deep orange fire, incinerating him.

Camo didn't know how he'd been able to do such a thing, and then decided to bring the sword back up.

Although he couldn't fly, there had been a stairwell that had somehow not been destroyed by the robot's attacks or by the explosion.

Camo slowly picked up the sword and did his best to make his way up the stairs, despite limping due to his broken paw. It throbbed and pained him terribly. When he'd finally arrived back up, he found Otoro having woken up. He was staring worriedly at Camo.

"What happened?" Otoro asked. "Are you alright?"

"A few injuries, but I'm fine," Camo replied. "I've got the sword, and I'm ready to leave."

"So am I." Otoro made his way through the opening in the wall, but then stopped with a gasp.

As it had happened so quickly, Camo had to blink a few times to understand what had happened.

Otoro stood there, a knife hanging out of his chest. It had sunken itself deep into his flesh, coming all the way from the front to the other side of his chest. And it had gone right through his heart.

Otoro collapsed.

Camo got to his side and tried to wake him. But it didn't work. Almost impossibly, Otoro was dead.

Looking at the knife again, Camo noticed that it was dark and seemed to be covered in shadow.

"It'sss sssimply terrible, issn't it?" came a voice. It had a snake-like lisp to it, and that let Camo realize who it belonged to. He turned to see the Wyvern known as Vathek standing in front of him.

Although he'd been exiled by his half-brother Ramses, he was somehow here now.

"What are you doing here, Vathek?" asked Camo. "You were exiled! How did you return?"

"A friend," was all Vathek replied.

"What kind of a friend?"

"I cannot sssay. But they are very helpful to thossse like me..." His voice trailed off. It was cold and dark, and had no simple emotion hidden in it. "You can have the sssword. All I want isss for the Sskylandersss to lossse."

Vathek then flew off, leaving Camo to wonder.

"Camo!" came a voice. "Camo! Up here!" Camo looked up and saw Sonic Boom landing. She was smiling at first, and then saw his injuries. "Camo, what happened to you?"

"I got the sword, but it took a lot, and it came at a price," he said. "A lot of soldiers came for it, as well. I fought them off, and one of the special soldiers. They're dead now, but one of my paws are broken."

"Oh my God..."

"And Otoro's dead."

The last thing took Sonic Boom off-guard. Her eyes widened. She then looked behind Camo and saw the leader. Small tears filled her eyes.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Spyro?" Camo then asked.

"Yes, but I needed to talk to someone. The medicine focuses on all your problems, and he has a lot right now, so he's been sleeping a long time. I came to see if I could help you, and then I saw this. Do you need help getting back?"

"You know the answer to that," Camo said. "But I don't know what to do about Otoro's body."

"We'll take care of it," one voice said behind him. Camo turned and saw a group of Gillmen. "We know you never meant this to happen. The soldiers were sent by Vathek, and is planning to kill you all. We will stand by your side during this war until the end. Thank you for protecting him, Skylander." The compliment was towards Camo. "We will meet again, I hope."

Camo nodded. "I hope so, as well, as do the other Skylanders."

Leaving the sword to be picked up by Sonic Boom, he jumped up on her back, albeit with difficulty, and then they started flying back to the Ruins.

"There's a good thing that's coming out of this, you know," Camo told her. "Other than having the Gillmen's trust."

"What's that?" Sonic Boom asked.

"We're one step closer to finding Cynder."


	5. The Start of Something Evil

**Chapter 5**

**The Start of Something Evil**

Sunburn and Whirlwind made their ways deeper into the Underworld. Sunburn knew of Whirlwind's deep fear of being in such a place, and he couldn't blame her.

But he knew they would both get through it. All they needed to do was learn if any of them had heard anything of Cynder.

If they found nothing, then they would leave, and it would all be over.

Whirlwind was shaking, and Sunburn saw this.

"You don't have to be so scared," he told her.

"Yes, I do," she said. "When I joined, I went into the Underworld for my first mission with Hex and Cynder. Of course, I didn't trust either of them at the time. Cynder seemed just as scared as I was, but I was too stupid to see that, because she was too strange to me. She barely talked, and when she did, it was either with Spyro, you, Sonic Boom, or Hex. But otherwise, she freaked me out. Now I feel so dumb, because I understand why she had that feeling. So I came down here, and we had to face what seeemed like a whole army of skeletons. Cynder was the one who took them out the easiest. Hex did it pretty well, too, but I struggled. I blew them around, shocked them, but nothing I did seemed to work."

"So what happened?"

"One of my ribs were broken. We came back up and I was given medical care for it."

"I remember that now. That was when i first met you. You know, Cynder was actually in tears when she came back up. She was blaming herself for not keeping a closer eye on you, and she had to be comforted by Spyro and Sonic Boom. She was crying through the whole night. That was her problem back then, I guess. After having escaped from Malefor, her true feelings returned, but they came a little more dramatically, because she hadn't used them in so long. That's what Spyro thinks, anyway."

Whirlwind was astounded; even back then, Cynder had still cared for her teammates, even if she hadn't trusted her at all. She hadn't trusted Cynder for three years, even though Cynder had actually blamed herself. She'd been trying to protect her, and when she'd failed, she'd blamed herself.

"Oh, I feel so stupid!" Whirlwind exclaimed. "Cynder had been trying to be my friend even back then, and I completely ignored it! How could I have been so stupid! I relied only on what I thought of them, even though I hadn't even known her!"

Sunburn smiled. "Cynder cares for a lot of us," he said. "Some, though, don't allow her to show it, because they don't think much of her. It's because she showed up with Spyro one day, and he'd somehow known her, and then Eon had made her second-in-command of the Skylanders. That angered a lot of the Skylanders, because they thought Eon was being biased."

"Why did he do that?"

"He wanted her to be by the Dragon she loved, because he is the only one who can help her the best. He understands her, because he saved her from Malefor. He's her savior. She doesn't like being away from him. She started crying once while with me, Slam Bam, and Sonic Boom because of that. She loves him, and she counts those of us who helped save her from Malefor as her brothers and sisters, with the exception of Drobot. She and Spyro are mates, and they're inseparable. Even when one of them is gone, they have some sort of a connection with one another."

"I love her like a sister," Whirlwind said. "She's done her best to help us. She kept that one dark secret from us to help others, and she's done well. Only a few know her secret now. I just hope no one else learns it. If it falls into the wrong hands...who knows."

"She saved us all from Kaos last time. She knew what to do, and she did it. And then he made her come close to revealing her secret when he injured Spyro. That's what's good about her: if someone she loves is either hurt or is killed, which I hope never happens, she'll get those who wronged her back, no matter how drastic. But I just hope she never has to become drastic enough to become her much larger form."

"I agree."

Silence fell over them. Sunburn then broke it.

"There is a small town down here, but if we go there, we'll need to be really careful. Not all of the inhabitants are very happy, and all of them are dead." He laughed at that. "But we'll go there and see if we can learn anything. If not, we'll return to the Ruins and learn more from Camo. I wonder if he's found the Sword of Eon yet."

Whirlwind smiled at the thought of her mate bringing back the Sword, although she wondered if he had gotten in trouble along the way.

_No, don't think of that!_ she said to herself.

It took a little more for them to reach the small town. When they finally did, there was, for some strange reason, fog rolling across the ground, and the lights were flickering on and off.

"Stay close to me," Sunburn said. "I've been here before, but since you haven't, you need to be careful."

They entered the small town. Ghouls floated away from them as they made their ways through. Whirlwind had no idea what she was to do. She wondered if the ghosts were able to smell her fear, and if they were, would they attack? She wanted to ask Sunburn, but her question got stuck in her throat, and she was unable to speak anymore.

"Can someone tell me where I can find your leader?" Sunburn asked. "Is there someone who leads you?"

"Yes," rasped one of the ghosts. "I shall take you to them." He floated away, and Sunburn hurried after, followed by Whirlwind.

They found a small building that resembled an old-style police station. On the top it said, MAYOR'S OFFICE.

When they entered, they heard someone yell out in a deep voice, "Who is it?"

"It is I, sir," said the ghost.

"And who would you be?"

"Ralph, sir. I have brought visitors for you."

"Ah, visitors! Bring them in! But Ralph, you stay out there!" the mayor said, still in his office.

Sunburn and Whirlwind made their way inside the office. It was lit-up, unlike outside, and the wallpaper showed fruits, which made the room seem a little more cheerful.

The chair at the desk rolled around, and a skeleton appeared, smoking a cigar. "What can I do for you?" he asked. "Wait, aren't you both members of the Skylanders?"

"Yes," Sunburn said. "I'm Sunburn, and this is Whirlwind."

"What elements are you from?"

"I'm from Air, and he's from Fire," Whirlwind explained, slowly gaining back her confidence. "We're also both Hybrids."

"Interesting. What can I do for you?"

"We need your help," Sunburn said. "One of our friends has gone missing, and we can't find her. We wanted to know if you've heard anything of a Black Dragoness coming down here."

"Not in about a year," the mayor said. "I remember that idiot T-Bone mentioning something about a Black Dragon coming down here, but knowing him, he was probably lying."

"Well, we didn't find her down here last time, but we did find her somewhere else that time. She's missing again, and we don't know where she could have gone. We wanted to see if you could help us."

"I'm sorry, but I haven't heard anything about a Black Dragon coming down here."

"Dragoness. She's a girl, not a guy!" Whirlwind snapped. "We want to find her, because she's gone missing, and she's one of the greatest Skylanders we know! We need help!"

The mayor looked at her with dark eyes, which were some of the few normal things about him.

"You're beautiful, you know. But I still can't help you, and I'm sorry. I wish it was easier, but it's not! I'll lead you two out. I'll make sure none of the residents attempt to kill you on your way out, as well, so don't worry."

As they left the office and went outside, they heard a sudden explosion. The entire town was on fire. Looking around for the source, they saw a giant robot heading for them.

"Holy-!" the mayor began, but was cut off, and in a bad way. The robot blasted an inferno at him. While Sunburn covered Whirlwind to protect her from the flames, the mayor was incinerated.

"Oh my God," Sunburn whispered. He looked up at the creature piloting the robot. It was a soldier from Realm he did not know. Nothing could be seen of his body. "Who in the heck are you?" he yelled up, allowing Whirlwind back out from under his wings.

"I am a soldier for my master, and for my master's leader!" the soldier hissed. "Now prepare to die!"

Sunburn and Whirlwind leapt out of the way of the robot as it blasted more fire. Sunburn realized only he could get close to the robot while it was blasting fire and destroy it.

"Whirlwind, run!" he commanded her.

She looked at him with fear, her blue eyes filled with concern. "What?"

"I SAID RUN! DO IT, NOW!" he yelled. "ONLY I CAN TAKE THIS THING DOWN WITHOUT DYING! IT'S FLAMES WON'T KILL ME! NOW RUN, DO IT!"

Whirlwind nodded, and decided to run back to the Ruins.

Sunburn looked up at the robot and smiled. It would be all too easy to destroy it.

As it blasted fire again, it swung at him with giant mechanical claws, which he hadn't expected. It scraped his wings and his left side. Although it hurt and he was bleeding, he didn't care.

"TAKE THIS!" Sunburn yelled, and released a deep fire blast, breaking the robot's right leg nearly off. Some of the mechanical implants had fallen out, and the leg had been rendered nearly useless because of that.

"You son of-" the soldier began, but was cut off by Sunburn.

"Be nice for the kids!" Sunburn teased. He then blasted the leg again, destroying it. Seeing that in the middle of the robot's chest was what seemed to be its main power source, almost like a heart, he realized the best thing to do.

"Citizens, get back!" he yelled. "This can get deadly!"

They did as he said, and he released his Nova Blast, completely destroying the robot and killing the soldier, although he was now hurt because of it. He realized he'd been thrown against a wall and had sprained one of his paws. He had a cut around his eye that bled freshly. He wondered what Sonic Boom would be saying when he returned.

Looking around, he saw that his concentration had worked, and almost none of the buildings had been destroyed. The mayor's office had, but that was one of the few things.

He limped to the middle of the square. "I am sorry for your leader," he announced. "The Skylanders did not mean for this to happen, and we were not a part of this. I hope you will forgive us. I will be leaving now, and my friend has already left. If a battle ever arises above, you are welcome to join us."

Sunburn left, leaving the citizens to wonder.

As he left the small town, Whirlwind appeared.

"I thought I'd told you to leave!" he said. He grunted in pain, the taste of blood in his mouth. He'd accidentally bitten down on his tongue.

"You did," she said. "What happened to you?"

"I did a Nova Blast to kill the soldier and the robot. It made me sprain my paw and caused a cut under my eye. I must have also bitten down on my tongue real hard, because I'm bleeding right there now. It hurts a lot, to do that."

"I should've helped you," Whirlwind said.

"I told you to leave, but you didn't follow my instructions!"

"Just asking, how old are you?"

"I'm 18. What about you?"

"I'm almost 19. In about a month.

"Okay, so maybe you should have helped me. But for right now, let's get back up there. I need my pain to go away."

They walked in silence a little more, and then they went back to talking.

"Do you know how old Cynder, Spyro, and Sonic Boom are?" Whirlwind asked quietly.

"I think all three are around 19 by now. Spyro and Cynder were 15 when they first met and joined the Skylanders, and it had been three years when Malefor took her. It's been about a month since then. So maybe 18. It's a good thing Dragons don't start looking old until they're about 100. Nor do Hybrids."

The two friends laughed. When they were near the exit, Sunburn sighed sadly.

"What is it?" Whirlwind asked.

"We never really got info on Cynder. But I have more to tell Spyro other than that. Other than that, I want to get my wounds patched up and to see my mate."


	6. New Happenings

**Chapter 6**

**New Happenings**

Spyro opened his eyes and felt the breeze come into his treehouse. _But it isn't just mine,_ he thought to himself. _It's also Cynder's. Oh Cyn, where are you?_

Suddenly Hex entered the treehouse.

"Spyro, Camo's back!" she exclaimed. "And he's got news!"

Spyro hurried over to the Core. He found Camo and Sonic Boom standing there. Near Camo was the Sword of Eon, just as Spyro had remembered it.

But when Spyro saw Camo, he was alarmed. He was about to open his mouth when Sunburn and Whirlwind appeared, back from the Underworld. Both hugged their mates. But then Whirlwind and Sonic Boom saw the injuries their mates had sustained.

"Camo, what happened?" Whirlwind exclaimed.

"Let me explain it," he said. "I did find the sword, luckily. But when I arrived, Otoro led me into his home, and that was where I learned that some soldiers from somewhere else had arrived. They, too, were wanting the Sword. I don't know why. But Otoro and I were able to escape, with me killing the soldiers along the way. He finally led me to a pagoda, where the Sword had been kept. But just before I was to be given it, a huge robot piloted by one of the soldiers appeared and broke through the glass. I followed and fought against him. I sent all of his plasma attacks right back at him, but when I sent the last two, there was an explosion, and that's how I got this cut above my eye. When I finally recovered from that explosion, the Sword was right in front of me. I tried to get it and then escape, but the soldier piloting the robot had survived, and broke my paw. I killed him and went back upstairs to find Otoro. We had just left the pagoda when someone threw a shadow knife at him. Thanks to that knife, Otoro is dead."

"Do you know who it was that killed him?" Spyro asked.

"Vathek did. He told me that I could have the sword, but that he wanted us to lose. I'm guessing he wants us to fight him, but I'm confused about that. Sonic Boom came and found me after that, and thanks to her, I'm here. Anyway, here's the Sword." He pushed it over to Spyro as well as he could.

"Alright," Hex said. "What happened with you two?"

"It almost seems too weird," Sunburn said.

"What do you mean?" Camo asked.

"While Whirlwind and I were in the Underworld, we went to a small ghost town, literally, and we met with the mayor. He had nothing on Cynder, but we didn't give much a chance, because we didn't reveal her name. But when we went outside, a robot like the one you described appeared. It killed the mayor. I told Whirlwind to leave, and even though I told her that, she sort of did, but stayed in the Underworld. I was ruining the robot, but it clawed me in the side, and then I realized one of the only ways I could destroy it...well, I released a Nova Blast, which destroyed the robot and killed the soldier, but gave me this cut under my eye and caused me to bite down on my tongue. Let's just say, it hurt."

Spyro couldn't believe it. All three of them had learned something he never would have thought of.

"Vathek is planning something against us," he said. "But the Skylanders alone can't go against an army that he might have."

"You're right," Camo cut in. "I saw how many soldiers there were in Leviathan Lagoon. He has a heck of a lot, and we need more of the Realms to help out. Luckily, none of the Gillmen blame us. We need to find Skylanders who came from somewhere else and see if they might get the inhabitants to come and help us."

"You're right," Spyro said. "Slam Bam is definitely one of them. Sunburn, you need your wounds to heal. You're going to Dragon's Peak. Sonic Boom, go with him this time. Camo, you need to heal as well. If you have a broken paw, then you can't fight well with it. Go and get it wrapped up. Knowing how well Cali and Stealth Elf can be at healing, it shouldn't take very long. It didn't for-" Spyro stopped in midsentence, as he was about to speak Cynder's name. "Yeah, just go and get it healed."

He started walking away. Whirlwind told Camo she'd be there in the healing tent with him soon, and then went off to talk to Spyro.

"Spyro," she said, "Sunburn told me a few stories about Cynder, and I have to say, I'm sorry I didn't trust her a lot sooner. I was reminded of my first mission in the Underworld with her, and how I was injured. Sunburn then told me how she was crying and blaming herself for it all. I'm so sorry I didn't trust her before that, and I feel like a complete jerk. I promise you, I will do all that I can to find her with you. I want to tell her how wrong I was back then. I need to know if she forgives me."

"Trust me, she does," Spyro told her with a smile. "After all, you became her friend at a time where she wasn't doing the best. I probably shouldn't tell you this, but it's best to do it now and not anytime later. The night after we rescued her, I realized she wasn't in our treehouse, and so I flew off to find her. I found her at the Core, and she began telling me how it was all her fault that she'd been corrupted, how she could have warned us about Malefor returning. I told her she was wrong, but in the nicest way. If you don't want to be on her bad side, try to be gentle towards her. Because she's gone through so much, if anyone hurts her, she'll be a ticking time bomb, ready to explode. And if she explodes, it won't be good, because she'll become the corrupted monster no one else needs to see. When I saw her that way, it hurt me more than a stab to the heart could. She's my mate, the love of my life, and I can't bear to think right now of the pain I'd gone through, or the pain she wanted to go through. It hurt me, and I felt like I wanted her to kill me, because nothing felt right anymore. Do you understand me?"

"I do, and if something bad ever happens, I'll be by your side. You and Cynder are like my siblings, and if anything happens, I'll do what I can to help." Whirlwind gave him a tight hug. When she stopped and looked back at him, Spyro saw tears in her eyes. "I need to go back and check on Camo. By the way, what will we do with the Sword of Eon over there? We can't just leave it there, right?"

"No, and we won't. When you guys return to that spot and I arrive, we'll find out what to do with it."

Spyro walked away, and Whirlwind only watched as he did. She thought of how amazing he was. How all of those who rescued Cynder and never gave up on her were, and how amazing Cynder herself was.

When Spyro returned to the treehouse, he began to weep, unable to pull himself together. He couldn't take the fact that Cynder was still gone anymore. He loved her so much, and he hadn't even gotten a chance to see her before she'd left. His tears brought him to sleep, but it wasn't the kind he wanted. In fact, it was the worst he ever could have wished for.

_He saw the entrance to the Underworld. Then he turned around and saw the beach, the water lapping at the surf. It was a beautiful sapphire-blue, almost as beautiful as Cynder's eyes, but still less._

_And then he felt the pain._

_It was deep and searing. He screamed out in pain, screaming for someone to help him. But no one would come. He couldn't take it anymore, but he wanted to continue on, to see the Dragoness he loved again..._

"_Give in!" a voice said to him. "Give in! Nothing and no one will help you, you stupid purple whelping!" _

_It was a dark voice, and it belong to a female. But he couldn't see whoever was speaking. All he could see was the water. It had suddenly gone from sapphire-blue to a deep red: blood._

"_Give in!" the voice said again. "There is no way you can still live! Don't even attempt it, little one!"_

"_How can I give in?" he replied, gasping for breath. "I need to see the Dragoness I love again! I need to see her beautiful face! I need to see Cynder again! Please! PLEASE!"_

"_NO! CYNDER IS DEAD! THERE IS ONLY THE TERROR OF THE SKIES, AND I CANNOT LOSE! DON'T PLAY MIND GAMES WITH ME, YOU WHELPLING! YOU WILL ONLY FAIL!"_

"_How do I know you'll kill me?" he asked. "How do I know you're too soft?"_

"_I've caused your blood to already run. Does that not count enough?"_

_Spyro was too tired to continue on. His best bet was to allow himself to die, but he just didn't want to! He wanted to see Cynder again._

_With his gasping breaths, he asked, "Just let me see my mate again."_

"_You wish to see her?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Fine..."_

_Spyro then felt the monster's talons dig deeply into his neck, with blood streaming down. It hurt, and he knew he was about to die. The last thing he saw were the evil red eyes, and he screamed, and then it was cut off by blood in his mouth. His vision flickered, and then all went black._

Spyro jumped up in bed, sweat streaming down his face. His whole body was soaked in it. Even the bed's sheets had been soaked by it.

Then tears came to his eyes. He couldn't believe what he'd dreamed. That had been his worst fear, and he couldn't take it anymore. He needed help, and he needed it soon.

He flew out of the treehouse and ran to the Core. He was sobbing uncontrollably. He then felt someone touch his shoulder. He turned around to see Sonic Boom. She had a worried expression.

"What happened?" she asked.

He quickly explained it all. It was hard for him. The evil dream was stuck to his soul, and he couldn't get the thought out of his mind.

His throat felt constricted when he said what he thought it might mean. When he'd finished, he started sobbing even harder. Sunburn, Camo, Hex, and Whirlwind came over and just watched. They didn't know exactly what he had been forced to go through, but felt sorry for him.

"I'm sorry," he said to them when he'd finished. "You must think I'm crazy, because I'm the leader of the Skylanders, and I'm crying like this."

"No, Spyro," Hex said. "We understand what you feel. Cynder is one of our greatest friends, as well as your mate, and for her to go missing, it hurts so much. I don't know exactly, because I've never had this happen. Yes, she's my friend, and it's hurt me to think of her being gone, last time and now, but for the one you love to go must hurt more than any fatal wound ever would."

Sonic Boom put a wing over him. She wanted very badly to tell him, but knew it was best that she didn't.

Spyro finally regained himself-or half of himself, to say the least-and started telling them what they'd be doing.

"The Sword of Eon will be added to the Core of Light. We don't know what will happen when it happens, so it's best that we get to a safe distance when we do it. Everyone understand?" The others nodded. "Alright. Sunburn, I know you're hurt, but you can actually teleport away..."

"I'll do it," Hex said. "I can teleport away, and I can do it quick."

"Okay, then you'll do it," Spyro said. "After this is done, I'll tell you where to go to see if we can get help against Vathek and his army."

Spyro and the others hurried over behind a rock. Hex used her telekinetic abilities to lift the sword and place it into the core. She then suddenly teleported away, and they just watched what happened next, which awed them.

The Sword of Eon became a rich golden color, and then a bright white light went right up into the sky. When it was over, the light that usually radiated from its center had become electrified.

"Oh my God," Whirlwind said. "So now the Core's more powerful?"

"I guess so," Sunburn replied.

"I know what it's now able to do," Hex said.

"What do you mean?" Spyro asked. "What can it do?"

"It can turn those who were once evil to the side of redemption. But as for those who are too far gone, it cannot help them anymore."

When Hex had finished, many questions popped into the other Skylanders' brains, but decided not to ask them.

Spyro looked around and noticed the other Skylanders who had gathered around to notice the magnificent change to the Core. He realized this was the right time to get them to ask the inhabitants of their Realms if they would stand with them and fight against Vathek.

He told Sunburn to do it, though. Sonic Boom had helped him get through the nightmare, but he was still partially weak inside due to it.

"Okay," Sunburn announced. "We have something to ask all of you. While Camo was at Leviathan Lagoon, he recovered the Sword of Eon." At this, a good many of the Skylanders clapped and cheered. "Yes, it is exciting, and it has now given the Core more power!" More clapping and cheering. "But we still have a problem that has arisen. While there, Camo learned of a rebellion against us led by the Wyvern Vathek. Vathek has wrong us, as he has murdered Otoro, the leader of Leviathan Lagoon, and the mayor of one of the cities of the Underworld. While Leviathan Lagoon has decided to stand by us as we fight against the rebellion, I want to ask you to go to your homelands and ask the inhabitants if they will stand with us, as well! I will be going to Dragon's Peak soon, and I know they will join, as their leader, Ramses, is the half-brother of Vathek. Slam Bam, I want you to go to the Empire of Ice! There are many others, I know, and I want you to do it for us! Please do, because it will be greatly appreciated! We cannot fail, because the Skylanders are more powerful, and nothing can bring us down!"

When he had finished, all the Skylanders cheered and then scrambled to get to their homelands as quickly as possible. Spyro saw among the Skylanders Gill Grunt, although he was not moving. Instead, he seemed shocked.

And Spyro could not blame him. After all, the leader of Leviathan Lagoon had been a friend of his family for a long while. They were still living there, although Spyro had never met them.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he went over.

"No," Gill Grunt replied. "I should have been there."

"I'm sorry, but I didn't know where you were at the time. I understand your anger. Trust me, when Vathek is defeated, you can cause him as much pain as you wish, but just make sure you don't kill him," Spyro explained.

Gill Grunt smiled. "I'm sad for those in the Underworld, as well. It's such a terrible thing, and they deserve their revenge."

"I wouldn't say revenge. To have revenge is something terrible, but to avenge is what is right."

"You're right," Gill Grunt said. "I think I'll go with Bouncer to see if the Arkeyans will join us. By the way, where's Kaos been? And where's Cynder?"

Spyro didn't know how to say anything else. It was too hard to think of Cynder being away from him.

"I don't know about either of them," said Spyro. "I wish I did about Cynder. I hope Kaos is gone for good, though, after what he did to us all."

Gill Grunt nodded. "I'll be going, Spyro. Thanks for the encouragement." He slapped him on the back and left him to wonder.

While still painful to think of her, Spyro thought, _I will find you, I promise._

Hex made her way over.

"Are you not going somewhere?" she asked.

"No. The Dragon Realms have enough problems to deal with," Spyro said quickly.

"Sounds like you have a little animosity towards them."

"Some of them weren't always the best. But I still love those who helped me to become who I am today," he explained. "I just don't want to return for a short while. Do you have anywhere you could go?"

"No," she said. "I'm an exile. Not from a Realm, but an exile of my own making. I've never fit in well with everyone, and not all of the Skylanders trust me."

Spyro smiled. "That's not completely true. You're a great friend, and you've helped us through a lot. I thank you for what you've helped us through. If it hadn't been for you, then some of us wouldn't be the same. You also have a lot of similarities with Cyn. You both have said the same thing. She used to believe herself as an exile because of her evil deeds while under corruption." He swallowed for a minute, trying to force the dream out of his mind. "But I changed her mind, and she's become a great friend to some of you, I know."

"Me and her are friends because of our similarities. I'm the first one to know her secret, other than you. I was so terrified when I saw what she'd become, but I know where she comes from when she says she's an exile. When we find her, all will be set right. I'll make sure of it."

She patted Spyro on the neck, and then left him. He was once more alone, but he had new faith, and to him, that was one of the things that mattered most.

Without faith, you would be destroyed too easily. You would crash and burn and die.

But with faith, you would be impenetrable, and you would win every battle. You could not be touched by evil.

And that was what Spyro now had.


	7. Abusing Power

**Chapter 7**

**Abusing Power**

Kaos sat on his throne, thinking about him becoming king once more. His entire lair had been destroyed by the Skylanders, and now he was forced to live in a shack.

But what he loved most was the monster he had on his side. And when the Skylanders finally saw her, it would all be over for them. They would be unable to speak. They would all die.

That was when he saw the shadow come underneath his door. And the Vathek appeared.

"Ah, hello!" Kaos said. "Nice meeting you again! What have you succeeded in so far?"

"The Sssword of Eon wass taken by one of the Ssskylanderss," replied Vathek. "But I did kill the leader of the Lagoon. They will not be bothering usss for quite a while."

"Well, because you killed Otoro, I will let you slide by. What more do you have? How did the robot attack go?"

"The Ssskylander desstroyed it."

"What? How?"

"One of hisss attacksss. It wass like a burssst of fire, and it repelled the plassma back into the chesst of the robot. It exploded. Although the sssoldier ssurvived, he wasss killed by the sssame Ssskylander."

"This isn't good!" Kaos exclaimed. "Well, it could be worse. We still have the slave over here." He pointed to the shadows behind him, where Cynder stood silently, watching them intently. "She is our key to winning. When the Skylanders believe they have won, we will set her on them, and then that will be it!"

"How do you know it will work?" Vathek asked. "It might be harder than you think, Kaosss."

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing!" Kaos snapped. "I'm not stupid, you know!" At that, Vathek rolled his eyes. "Anyway, we will release her if your army fails, or if it is the right time. Of course, if you succeed in winning, she can still come and kill all those who still live or all those who still oppose us."

"There are ssstill complicationss," Vathek said. "You have too much pride, and that will lead to your downfall. I have prepared my army to be ready to attack Dragon'sss Peak, though. I am ready to take my brother'sss throne. Ramsses shall sssoon die. But it musst be by my hand, not anyone elsses."

"I see where you're coming from, and I will allow you to do just that. But if you do fail, don't be too surprised if they execute you! And neither my slave or I shall be there to help you. When your head's cut off and your blood flows from the shattered remains of what was once you, you won't be helped anymore. I'm sorry, but it's true!"

Vathek didn't care what Kaos was saying. What he wanted most was Kaos's slave. She was so beautiful, but he didn't truly believe it was right to have turned her into his slave. He would have just kidnapped her.

"I have thought of sssomething elsse," Vathek finally said.

"And what is that?" Kaos asked.

"We can join armiesss, and then we shall be truly unsstoppable! Don't try to sstop yourssself from ssseeing it! It'ss a way in which we cannot posssibly fail!"

"Hm, you are right." Kaos scratched his chin, and although there was and most likely never would be hair there, he acted like it did.

After a few minutes of silence, Kaos exclaimed, "Yes! It's the one thing that will make the most sense! I must tell my army's leader! And then you should tell yours! We cannot possibly fail this time! Oh, if only Glumshanks were here to see this! Of course, the slave here killed him about a month ago. It hasn't been the same since. But now she's under my control, and she will do as I say!" He laughed maniacally, and then got up. "Well, time to go talk to the army leader."

When Kaos was gone, Vathek turned to Cynder.

"You are not a ssslave to me," Vathek said. "He iss usssing you. You musst kill him, and then come to me. When you do, you shall no longer be a ssslave. You will be my queen, and we will be the true rulersss of Sskylandsss."

But Cynder only stared, still not saying anything. Vathek couldn't remember what color her eyes had once been, but he knew they'd been different, and much more beautiful.

Kaos walked in again, ruining the moment Vathek believed had been there between Cynder and him.

As he sat back up on his throne, he smiled. "They have agreed to be with your army," he explained, "and we will attack on Wednesday of next week, which is six days away."

"Why sso long?" Vathek asked.

"Because I want to see if the Skylanders can actually round up their own army, which I'm sure isn't possible. We will win, and we also have our secret weapon. Oh, this is going to be so much fun!"

"You're inssane," Vathek replied. "You ssstill have too much pride in you, and that will lead to anyone'ss downfall sssomewhere in life. I hope you realize that."

"No, my pride will never become my downfall. My power is and always has been too great!"

"What about the lassst time you failed? What happened then? Wasss that a time when your power wasss great, Kaosss? Or did you completely fail in your attempt? My guesss iss the sssecond one. It fitsss you bessst."

Kaos ignored the Wyvern in front of him. It had always been said in legends that Wyvern's always were dumb creatures, and that they always made false assumptions. Of course, another said that they bring bad luck.

But Kaos didn't believe in the second one. He only believed in the first, and to him, that was all that mattered. He believed he could not lose, and that he was better than all the others in Skylands. Even better than the Skylanders.

He believed his failures would soon end, and that those had already occurred had only been warm-ups for him, and that now he was ready.

"We do have one more ally on our side, of course," Kaos told Vathek. "The mayor of Shattered Island. He decided to come to me after the Skylanders visited him to ask about the slave here. He hates the Skylanders and wants to get rid of them, so he's now on our side."

"What will he do if he'ss caught?" Vathek inquired. "He should be happy the Mabu don't execute othersss. What should he ssay if we bring him to our headquarterss? That he'ss going on vacation? It'll never work!"

Kaos was becoming annoyed by Vathek, but did his best to keep himself calm and to not allow his temper to boil over. It wouldn't do well if he wanted Vathek and the mayor by his side.

"Yes," Kaos said. "He should. It would be the only thing that most of the Mabu would actually buy. But anything else, and they'll realize it's all a ruse. We need to be really careful when it comes to this. We don't want to fail!"

"You mussst realize the dangerss of thiss!" Vathek yelled. "What if he decidess to double-crosss you and tell all the other Mabu?"

"He had better not!" Kaos exclaimed. "What do you think, slave? Do you believe he should tell all the inhabitants? Do you?" Cynder did not say anything. "I SAID, DO YOU?! DO YOU EVEN HEAR ME SPEAKING TO YOU?!"

He smacked her across the face. She amazingly didn't do anything after that. Vathek wondered why that was. He could see how much of a tyrant Kaos was becoming. But he decided to stay on that side.

"Fine," he said. "Wednessday of next week. We mussst make sure no other living ssoul knows, or it will all fall apart!"

"It won't." Kaos looked over at Cynder and smiled at his slave. "It most certainly won't."


	8. Empire of Ice

**Chapter 8**

**Empire of Ice**

Whirlwind had decided to follow Slam Bam to the Empire of Ice to see if his Yeti brethren would join them in the battle against Vathek.

"So how many are there?" she asked.

"A lot," he replied darkly. He was easily annoyed, and that was what made him different than most of the other Skylanders.

Many of them had learned to deal with whatever annoyed them the most deeply, but he had kept it with him. Yet somehow, he was more liked than Cynder was, which hurt Whirlwind.

And out of all the Skylanders, Slam Bam trusted Cynder least of all, and didn't care if she died or not.

"What do you think might be waiting for us here?" he asked her. "Those robots that were mentioned? The ones Camo fought, I mean."

"Maybe. Or maybe it's something different. You can never be too sure, you know?" she said.

Slam Bam sighed.

"What makes you so happy all the time?"

"I'm not happy right now, just so you know. I'm sad and and scared and anxious. For me and some others, it's hard not too be."

"Why? What could have happened to cause that?"

"I know you probably won't care, but it's the fact that Cynder went missing," Whirlwind said.

"Oh, so the freak's gone? No wonder she wasn't there. I just thought she had gone somewhere."

"Shut up!" Whirlwind exclaimed. "I'm tired of the fact that you keep making these hurtful jokes and sayings about her! She's one of the bravest Skylanders I know, okay? I'd rather you show some sort of respect. After all, she did save a lot of us from Kaos."

"Are you kidding me? She only saved her mate, and then scared the little tyrant off. Thanks to her, we'll have to deal with him again one day! I would have just killed Kaos if I'd been her..."

Whirlwind slammed him with an arc of energy, knocking him to the ground. She got on top of him.

"If you want me to help you with this, then I'd suggest you shut your darn mouth, and if you do open the thing again, it'd better not be any crap about Cynder. Do you freaking understand me? She's one of my friends, and I won't deal with anybody being rude towards her!"

Slam Bam saw the ferocity in her eyes and knew that she meant it. He realized he did need her help to gather the Yetis and other creatures. He sighed, and then said, "Fine."

Whirlwind got off him. As he got back up, she flashed him a dark smile. He was a little scared of her, but he believed it wouldn't be long until the battle with Vathek was almost over. When it was, he'd be returning to hating Cynder and calling her out for everything. She freaked him out too much, and couldn't stand the fact she'd been let the opportunity to become a Skylander, as well as the chance to become the second-in-command. He believed there was no reason for that, and that it should have been him.

The cold wind sent shivers up Whirlwind's spine. Just after Cynder had been rescued from Malefor, Whirlwind had spent a day with her and learned that due to her exposure to the darkness, most of her body heat was gone, and that she didn't do well in weather such as where Whirlwind was now.

There was a cave up at the top of one of the mountains, with light shining out of it. There was music that boomed out of it, as well. Whirlwind guessed that was where they would find the group of Yetis. She asked Slam Bam about this, and he confirmed it.

As they started up the side of the mountain, Whirlwind thought she'd noticed something green behind one of the rocks. It had seemed to be moving, but she guessed it was one of the few plants that could actually survive in the Realm. She didn't want her mind to completely dwell on the upcoming battle with Vathek and his army. It would only depress her even more.

The snow was think underneath her paws, and she wondered how hard it was for some of the animals. She could see how it would be annoying and hard to get through.

But much to her surprise, her paws never sank into the snow, which made her very happy.

Her only problem was how the snowflakes fluttered into her eyes. It almost seemed as if they were trying to blind her and cause her to fall off the side of the mountain. Of course, it would never work as she was able to fly, thanks to her being a Hybrid that was a cross between a Dragon and a Unicorn.

It took them almost an hour to reach the top. Slam Bam made it without breaking a sweat, while Whirlwind was happy that she'd even made it up without help. Although she knew she could fly, she wanted it to be a little harder, and she didn't want to leave Slam Bam behind.

"What kind of animals are there up here?" Whirlwind asked.

"Wolves, bears, foxes, martens...all those," he explained. "Wolves are the worst if they are rabid, but a lot of them are like us, so you shouldn't have to completely worry. Now, let's get on inside and see what's going on."

They made their way over to the inside of the cave. The music was loud and cheerful. But when Slam Bam entered and the Yetis saw him, it all stopped.

This allowed Whirlwind to see what the other Yetis looked like. They all resembled Slam Bam, with blue skin and white hair, but almost all of them had their unique eye color.

"Holy crap," one of them whispered. "I never thought I'd see you again in my life." He smiled and ran up to hug Slam Bam. Most of the others followed suit.

But Whirlwind noticed four who did not do so.

The largest one, and seemingly the oldest, slammed a staff onto the ground, causing the others to stop and look at him. Once they were quiet, the old Yeti looked at Slam Bam and finally did smile.

"Hello, my son," he greeted. Hearing this, Whirlwind's mouth dropped open.

_Slam Bam's father is the leader of this Yeti tribe!_ she thought to herself.

"Hello, Father," Slam Bam greeted back. "Brothers." The other three on the sides of Slam Bam's father nodded, but were still wearing smiles. "I have come with urgent news."

"And what would this be?" his father asked. Whirlwind noticed he had an accent to his voice, something Slam Bam did not have.

"In Leviathan Lagoon, the leader was murdered," Slam Bam announced. His father's jaw dropped open. "One of the other Skylanders, Camo of the Life Element, went there to recover the Sword of Eon, and while he did so, the Wyvern Vathek attacked him and killed Otoro."

"Is that all?" his father asked.

"No. A similar event occurred in the Underworld, where the Hybrid Sunburn of the Fire Element traveled. He went there to learn of some news from them, but their leader was incinerated by a large robot sent by Vathek. While the robot was destroyed, Sunburn was wounded. The Gillmen are on our side, but we are not sure of the Underworld. Our leader, Spyro of the Magic Element, has sent me here to ask you if you will join us in battle against Vathek. Will you join us, Father?"

Before his father could answer, a giant troll burst into the cave. It was larger than any normal troll should be, and it looked ready to kill.

"What in the heck?" Slam Bam exclaimed.

"How is that thing bigger than every other troll?" Whirlwind asked him. He shrugged, but they were ready to fight it.

"Father, please hide! I cannot have you injured!" he commanded of his father. "The other leaders have died, and I do not want you to be next! Please! Brothers, you as well! This is a job for us only!"

Slam Bam and Whirlwind prepared themselves. Whirlwind shot a Tempest Cloud, which hurt the troll, but didn't kill it.

Slam Bam ran at it, icicles now hanging from his arms and hands. He stabbed them into the troll, but it didn't die. It was only wounded. It swung one of its giant, muscular arms and knocked him into a wall.

"What happened?" Whirlwind asked. "How is that thing not dead?"

"I'm not sure. It most certainly should be," he replied. "I couldn't even get near where its heart is located. Its skin is too thick. There must be some way to kill it, but I can't think of one!"

Whirlwind thought for a moment, and then realized something they should have done from the very beginning of the fight.

"We need to both distract it with attacks at the same time," she told Slam Bam. "It's the only way we can kill it and still make sure everyone's safe!"

Just as she finished, the troll threw a lit stick of dynamite at Slam Bam's father. But Whirlwind saw it, hurried as quickly as she could to catch it, and threw it right back at it.

When the dynamite exploded, the troll was badly injured. It was bleeding from several face wounds, and now the wounds from the icicles earlier were beginning to show. Blood seeped through a white shirt it had on.

"What in the heck?" Slam Bam exclaimed. "Why couldn't it have done that earlier for us?"

"I know what's going on," Whirlwind said. "The troll was given some sort of enhancement serum. When we badly injure it, its body will begin to deteriorate! The troll's body was probably never meant to have this serum in it, so it will start killing it from the inside when a heavy blow is dealt to it."

"How in the heck do you know that?"

"I once wanted to be a science teacher. I still remember a lot of that stuff."

Sending another blast of rainbow energy at the troll, it reacted towards her, allowing Slam Bam a chance. He used the icicles again to stab its back. It roared in pain. The two of them repeated this a few times, with Slam Bam keeping the icicles and Whirlwind switching between the rainbow energy and the Tempest Cloud.

Both were starting to become tired out, and the troll was not showing any signs of dying. It picked up something, and Slam Bam realized it was one of his icicles. It had blood dripping off the end.

The troll was about to throw it at Whirlwind, but Slam got himself in the way, allowing the icicle to dig deeply into his side.

"Whirlwind, shoot the largest blast of rainbow energy you can, and I'll use the most ice I can!" he gasped, feeling pain. He grasped the icicle, took it out of his side, and threw it back.

While it shattered, it distracted the troll. The icicle's shards seemed to hit a weak spot, and blood seeped through the white shirt.

Slam Bam nodded at Whirlwind, who nodded back. He pounded the ground with all four of his arms, and she concentrated enough to release a huge Tempest Cloud.

The pound released four large pieces of ice, hard enough to break a leg. Although it was known as the Ice Prison, the attack wasn't large enough to encase the troll.

That Ice Prison and the Tempest Cloud combined, and they then heard the troll scream out in pain.

It fell to the ground, grievously wounded. Whirlwind smiled at it. The creature's body was beginning to completely deteriorate, which seemed to be painful.

To put the troll out of its misery, Slam Bam used an icicle and forced it through the troll's heart, killing it instantly.

The body suddenly turned into ashes, which the cold wind from outside blew away.

"Thank God that's over," Slam Bam said. He looked down at his wound. It wasn't bleeding, luckily, and it also wasn't deep. But he needed to get it patched up. He looked up to his father, who was unharmed.

"Thank you, son," said his father. "You did most well. Young Dragoness," he added to Whirlwind, "come over here." He motioned for her to stand by him. "You too, my son."

"I'm not a Dragoness," Whirlwind said. "I'm a Hybrid."

"What kind?"

"A cross between a Dragon and a Unicorn. It seems weird, but I am a Skylander, just so you know," she explained. "I'm part of the Air Element. But I'm not the leader."

Slam Bam's father laughed.

"You both are truly amazing," said to them. "Thank you for saving me from that troll. Is there any reason it was so much larger, though?"

"Enhancement serum," Whirlwind replied. "It was being tested a while ago, but was then outlawed for being so dangerous. Anyway, I think Slam Bam has something he wishes to ask you."

"Yes," Slam Bam said. "I would like to know if you will join us in defeating the Wyvern known as Vathek. He is the reason for the death of Otoro. We must stop him before anyone else is injured by his ruthlessness. He has an army all set, and we need help to end it. The Gillmen are already with us."

His father thought it through for a moment. He knew it would be very dangerous, but he very much wished to be with his son again.

"Alright," he said. "We will go with you. But I have realized I must be very careful now. If they killed Otoro, then they are after me as well. This fight has shown me that." He looked down at his son's wound. "Are you alright?"

"It's not that bad," Slam Bam replied. "It could be a whole lot worse. When you're a Skylander, you get in this sort of trouble a lot."

"Okay. We must get back and see if there will be anymore allies." He turned to the other Yetis. "Is there a way you can protect me?"

The Yetis all replied with "yes," and in the end, it was decided that he would be hiding inbetween the large group. He would also forgo the staff and do his best to walk without it.

But Whirlwind realized something that might compromise it all if someone was watching.

"Wait, what if someone is watching us from higher up and sees me?" she asked. "I'm not a Yeti, and it would be easy for them to notice that!"

"You're right," Slam Bam said. "We need to do something about that, but I'm not sure."

"I could always fly overhead and take out any of the creatures who might be watching you guys. We need to make sure Kaos doesn't succeed yet again in killing the leader of a world, or in this case, an Empire. Especially if the leader here is your father."

Slam Bam smiled, happy that she would do such a thing, when nearly half an hour ago, she was threatening him for insulting Cynder.

"That's a great idea! It shouldn't fail either! Alright, come on! Make sure to get any of the other Yetis around here! Once you're done, come back and form a tight circle around your leader! We need to keep him safe, and although we have someone watching out for us from above, we need to keep watch for dangerous things ourselves, because there might be things laying in wait, behind rocks and plants," Slam Bam explained. "Do you all understand me?"

The other Yetis all nodded and hurried to find the others. They were ready to help him and the Skylanders, which cheered Whirlwind up.

She then thought of Cynder, who was still missing. She believed that this time would not turn out like the last, and that they would be able to find her when it was all over.

_Don't worry, Cyn. We're coming to get you!_


	9. Dragon's Peak

**Chapter 9**

**Dragon's Peak**

Sunburn had traveled with his mate, Sonic Boom, to where he had been raised, a large world known as Dragon's Peak.

It seemed very ironic to him that it was the same world the Skylanders had first fought Vathek in, and the one from which he'd been exiled.

But they were only there to warn the leader, the Dragon Elder Ramses, of what was to come.

"It all seems so much bigger than most places we go to," Sonic Boom said to him. "Why is that?"

"I'm not sure. Truthfully the only thing on my mind is finding Cynder. We need to do that before something really bad happens," Sunburn said back. "You remember what happened to Spyro the day he learned of it. If that happens again, we won't really have a leader."

"Can you blame him? After all, they're mates, just like we are. It'd be hard for us, I'd bet. Of course, it hurt him worst when we found Cynder in her corrupted form there in Convexity. It definitely hurt me. To see my greatest friend under that corruption made me want to stop living. She told me a few days after that about the night when we'd returned. She said that Spyro found her by the Core that night, and she'd actually said she blamed herself for it all. She said she could have warned us all before Malefor took her."

"Why would she say that?" Sunburn exclaimed. "That's wrong! She was hurt already by then, because that troll had taken her by surprise."

"She took it to the point that she started crying, both that night and when she told me. It's hard for her to deal with her pain of the past. Malefor ruined much of her life. Yes, he's gone, but he left a hurting impression on her. It's hard for her to recover. That's why we need to show her love."

"Not many of the Skylanders do that. They all seem to be scared of her. But I'm not. She's one of my greatest friends as well, and I love her like a sister. When we find her, we need to make sure she's loved. It's hard for her to go through so much pain. I saw what was happening when Kaos injured Spyro like that. Her eyes were becoming black, almost as if she was about to become her corrupted form again. That's a secret no one else should know about."

Sonic Boom nodded. She wanted to find her friend badly, but knew they would first have to warn Ramses of what was to come and see if any of the inhabitants would join them in the fight against Vathek.

They saw the castle where Ramses lived. The guards there were watching them intently.

"Can I help you?" one of them asked.

"Yes," Sonic Boom said. "We're here to see the Dragon King, Ramses. We have news for him."

"And just who are you?" another guard asked.

"We're Skylanders," Sunburn answered. "We need to see your king. It is an urgent matter. Only he would probably understand."

"How do we know we can trust you?" a guard asked.

"We're Skylanders. What more do you need to know?" Sonic Boom snapped at him.

It was with that that the guards allowed them inside. The Great Hall was mostly with gold, although there were many antiques in there made of wood and other materials. It was an amazing sight. Sonic Boom's eyes had widened when she saw it. Sunburn smiled when he saw that.

"Amazing, isn't it?" came an old and withered voice, filling with knowledge. Both of the Skylanders saw Ramses emerge from one of the other entrances. "It is nice to see you again, Sunburn." He nodded at him. "Who is this friend of yours?"

"This is Sonic Boom," Sunburn replied. Sonic Boom smiled at Ramses. "She's my mate."

Ramses smiled himself when he heard that.

"How long have you been mates?"

"About a year. But we need to move on past that. We have news you might not like."

"What do you mean?"

"The leader of Leviathan Lagoon has been murdered. One of the other Skylanders, Camo, reported it to us. He said that after defeating a soldier in a large attack robot, Otoro was killed by a dagger draped in shadow." Sunburn then gulped, afraid of saying the last part. "It turned out to be your half-brother, Vathek. He's challenged the Skylanders to a war. We wanted to come and tell you, because our leader, Spyro, has sent many of us around Skylands to warn others and ask them if they would wish to join us. I understand if you don't, but there is one problem. The battle will take place here, and if that happens, you'll be in very serious danger."

"I see...and I understand," Ramses said. "I will see if any of my men will join you. They most likely will, as many of them remember you from when you were being raised here."

"The guards outside didn't," Sonic Boom told him.

"That is because they are newer, but are still very protective of me, and they are very strong. But back to the problem at hand. Otoro's dead, you say? It's just not right. He was such a good friend. Is there something I should do to protect myself from Vathek? He is very strong, and I am old. That is the difference between Dragons and Wyverns: Dragons age much faster, but not as fast as those such as Kaos do. When we are 100, we still look as if we could be 40. But I am over 1000. Vathek is 100 years younger than I, but does not look it. He is also very cunning."

Just as he said those words, there was the sudden sound of a lot of glass shattering. Into the room came a small orb. Sonic Boom made her way over to it.

She hoped very much it wasn't dangerous, as she had dealt with a broken rib after the battle against Kaos. It had healed very quickly, but it still made her a little more careful.

"Be careful," she heard her mate say behind her.

But no matter how careful she was, the orb opened up and released a vapor. Suddenly she, Sunburn, and Ramses were facing their worst fears.

Sunburn saw Sonic Boom in front of him. But the vapor clouded it all. He closed his eyes, and then heard the voice he hated most.

Although he hadn't known the monster long, he hated him for what he'd done to one of his greatest friends, the torture he'd put her through...

Malefor appeared, but with his purple scales being covered in shadow.

"Come to me," the monster said in his deep and distorted voice. "I can make you my soldier. I can make you my general. I can make you my son..."

"No! You've hurt Cynder and my other friends! I will never trust you, and I will never go with you!"

"So you do not wish to take my hand? Fine. Then you can...DIE!" Malefor attacked him, claws ripping through Sunburn's feathers and skin.

As the blood poured out around him, Sunburn realized he would need to attack soon.

"You cannot win," Malefor said again. "You believe love is what helps you most, and if that's true, watch your mate die. When she is gone and your world is destroyed..."

"Shut up!" Sunburn snapped. "I can't lose! There must be some way to stop this! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

But no one in the room heard his screams. Ramses was dealing with the hallucination of his brother's voice in his mind, telling him to give in to death.

"_Do not try to get rid of me, Ramssesss_," he said. _"You cannot get through. You have no friendsss. You are and have not been a good king. You are a failure! When thisss all endss, you will be there with your people. The whole kingdom shall collapssse around you. Hell will force itsself upon your life, and it will be all over. We are not brothersss. We are not even half-brothersss. We are blood enemiesss. When it isss all over, what do you believe you shall do? If you sssurvive, that isss. You will have nothing to live for. Nobody will love you or trussst you. As of now, not even the Ssskylandersss trussst you. Thisss iss a chance for you to either allow me to kill you, or to join me. Make your choice..."_

Ramses stared in fear at Vathek. He could not see past it and realize it wasn't real. It hurt him too much, and for his old age, that wasn't good.

But it was Sonic Boom who was having the worst experience.

As the vapor had clouded the room, she'd heard the voice she'd never wanted to hear again.

She opened her eyes and saw a large Black Dragon with red eyes. She realized it was Cynder's corrupted form, which turned out to be her worst fear.

"What's the matter, little one?" Cynder asked. "Are you too weak to get up and fight?"

"No," Sonic Boom said. "You're not real. You aren't real!" Tears streamed out of her eyes. "I don't believe in you! You can't be real! YOU CAN'T!"

"But I am, and you must realize this! REALIZE IT! Fear is striking your heart as we speak, I know, and when your fear reaches its breaking point, it will all end for you. Don't try to get me out of your head! I will be there forever. It may be something you don't want, but it will be there no matter what, isn't that right?"

Through her tears, Sonic Boom realized that the dark version of her best friend was right.

"Just kill me," Sonic Boom said. "I can't take it anymore. JUST KILL ME, PLEASE! I don't want to live anymore! There's too much pain in my life! JUST DO IT!"

The corrupted form of Cynder made her way to where Sonic Boom was pathetically crying on the ground in front of her. She laughed, and then raised the blade at the end of her tail, aiming for Sonic Boom's throat.

But suddenly, they heard Sunburn cry out, "NO! I'M NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS! ENOUGH!"

There was a sudden burst of fire, and Sunburn, completely in his most powerful form ran forward and destroyed the orb. The vapor dissipated, and everything was back to normal. Sunburn had not been truly wounded, and he realized it was all just a figment of his imagination. That was what the hallucination was meant for, he guessed.

Malefor, Vathek, and Cynder's corrupted form were all gone.

Sunburn looked down to where Sonic Boom was still crying. He bent down to her.

"What happened?" he asked her. "What did you see?" He laid himself down by her and rubbed her head as she cried.

"I can't tell you," she said. "Not right now."

Sunburn looked up to Ramses, who was staring at them with concern and sorrow. He smiled softly at them.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I should have helped more. I saw Vathek. He was my hallucination. This has left an imprint on our lives, I am sure."

"Yes. But now you see that we need to get an army together. If we do not get one, then there will only be a few of us, and that won't help us against all the other things we have seen or have heard about from others."

"I will ask my people." The double-doors burst open, and the guards from outside appeared.

"Are you alright?" one of them asked. "We heard screaming."

"We're fine," Ramses lied. "Just a little surprise we found." He gave them a fake smile, and that was what they bought. "But I need you for something. Get together the inhabitants of Dragon's Peak and tell them to be ready for whatever it is that I might say."

The guards nodded and then left the room.

"I will leave you two alone for a few moments," Ramses said, turning to them. "I must get myself ready for this announcement."

When he was gone, Sunburn looked back at his mate.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me?" he asked. She nodded. "Okay, I understand. But sooner or later, it's best that you let me know."

He then kissed her, which she returned.

When Ramses had returned, both Sunburn and Sonic Boom had noticed how different he seemed to have become. While he had already looked weary when they'd come, his face had changed to the point where his eyes had drooped to being nearly closed, and more lines had appeared around his face. It was the most aging either of them had ever seen on a Dragon, as their scales normally never had wrinkles in them, no matter what their age was.

But then again, he was the oldest Dragon they knew.

"Come," he said. "You must be there to hear me. I need you to be ready to speak to my people, to have them come to your side."

They made their way toward the doors that acted as the exit, which opened just before they'd reached them. When they walked outside, they noticed that nearly thousands of other Dragons (as well as Wyverns and Birds) had gathered around to hear their leader speak.

Sunburn and Sonic Boom noticed their heads turning, allowing them to know they were being talked about. The people could see they were Skylanders somehow, which didn't surprise either.

"Hello, my people!" Ramses greeted. "I must inform you that this world is no longer safe for us." At this whispers broke out among the crowd. "What I mean is that we have been threatened by the Wyvern known as Vathek. He is one of the most dangerous outlaws in all of Skylands, among the same ranks as the tyrant Kaos. Vathek has threatened the Skylanders as well, and the Underworld as well. It is now that I introduce two of the Skylanders who have come to inform me of this troubling news. You may remember Sunburn, a Hybrid whom we raised after finding him near the region of Magma Cone ." A great amount of applause broke out suddenly. "And then there is the charming Sonic Boom, a Griffiness. They have come to ask if any of you willing enough or brave enough to join them in battle against Vathek and his army. Who will join them?"

A great cry from the supporters came. Most were male.

"Very good!" said Ramses. "You must meet requirements, though. If you do not, then you may not fight alongside them. Now, form a line and my guards will see about it. Thank you!"

Ramses went back inside. More guards appeared and started their interrogation of those willing to join and fight with the Skylanders.

"I need to talk with Ramses for a minute," Sunburn told Sonic Boom. "Hurry back to the Ruins and tell them of what has happened here. But make sure you leave out the orb. I will stay here and help with initiating the new soldiers, but I will be back soon." He kissed her.

"I'll be expecting you," she said, and flew off.

Sunburn entered the castle once more. Ramses stood there, looking at an old painting of Dragon's Peak's mountains, which surrounded it on all sides.

"Sunburn, I am truly sorry," he said.

"What do you mean?" Sunburn asked.

"There is something I have not told you, something I should have said earlier. The truth is, I am dying."

It hit Sunburn hard. He couldn't believe it.

"How do you know? What let you know this?"

"I've known it for a while. All this stress has ruined my heart. Sooner or later I shall die, but what I shall do first is battle alongside the one I raised like a son. You are amazing, Sunburn. And your mate is, too. Where is she?"

"She's going back to the Ruins to tell them of everything that's happened here. But I told her to leave out the part about the orb."

"Ah. Yes, that was most unfortunate. When I die, a new king must take my place, but I do not know whom to pick. I would say you, but it would not work, most likely, as you are a Skylander. But we will learn soon who I shall pick, I am very sure."

"Ramses, there's something I do not understand," Sunburn finally said, speaking his mind.

"And what would that be?"

"Why is it that Vathek is seemingly draped in shadow? I've never seen that happen before, except in dreams. Yes, I've seen corruption, but their entire body wasn't covered in shadow."

"Vathek is corrupted, you are right," Ramses told him. "When he was young, his scales were truthfully green. But then, years later, there was a monster who changed his life. Due to injuries he'd sustained in battle, he asked someone for help. This monster healed him, but it came at a price: he was draped in shadow, and became a monster as well. Now he is known as the Exile, and nothing more can be done about that. It is a sad story, and I wish I could change it, but it is sadly impossible to do so."

"Wait, you say he was draped in shadow and became a monster by someone else..." Sunburn tried to connect the lines, and his eyes widened. "What was this other monster's name?"

"I do not remember what he was called originally, but a term he used for himself was the King of the Undead, as well as the Dark Master."

Sunburn couldn't believe it. The one who had corrupted Vathek into being the evil creature he was had been Malefor, the same monster that had corrupted Cynder! Now Sunburn realized what had to be done. He knew he could stay there at Dragon's Peak no longer.

"Ramses, I'm sorry for what's happening to you," he said. "I will be at your side on your last days. I was going to help out, but I have realized I must do something for my Element back at the Ruins."

"I understand, my friend," Ramses told him. "I will see you soon."

Sunburn hurried out of the castle and took flight, ready to tell the others what he'd learned.


	10. The Last of the Arkeyans

**Chapter 10**

**The Last of the Arkeyans**

Trigger Happy had followed Bouncer and Drobot, as well as Chop Chop, to where they believed the last of the Arkeyans were located. It was an old mountain, called fittingly "Mountain of the Arkeyans."

Unlike many of the old Arkeyans, those who had survived the terrible war thousands of years ago had reformed and were living in secret. Now only those who actually were either completely, half, or partly Arkeyan knew where they were.

"Where in the heck are we going?" Trigger Happy asked. "My legs are getting tired! I want to go back and wait for the next order!"

"Just hold on a minute, bro," Bouncer told him. "We're almost there. Too bad you're not actually Arkeyan, or else you would know how far we are."

"Well, I know that we need them for this upcoming war against Vathek, but still, I'd rather be looking for Cynder," Trigger Happy explained.

"You're friends with that little thing?" Bouncer asked him. "Man, that ain't normal!"

Drobot was thinking of what he'd seen in Convexity, but he was too scared of what Spyro would say to him if he revealed it all to them, because he was sure they'd reveal it to everyone else.

"She isn't a thing!" protested Trigger Happy. "I don't know much about her past, but I do know that it was hard for her. It wouldn't surprise me if she was orphaned at a young age. But I trust her, and so does Spyro. After all, they are mates."

"I still trust her, and not only because she is my captain," Chop Chop told them. "I trust her because of how she never gave up hope when it came to defeating Kaos. But he still went over the edge, if you ask me, hurting Spyro."

"We all think that," Drobot said. "But still, isn't it weird to any of you that the little freak went missing after Kaos was defeated?"

Silence fell for a few seconds.

"Yes, but that might be because Kaos kidnapped her or something," Trigger Happy said back.

"Oh no." Drobot seemed to have a little edge in his voice all of a sudden. "She's too powerful for that. Her power is unimaginable."

Trigger Happy wanted to press on, wondering if Drobot knew something about Cynder that he didn't, but then he saw Bouncer stop.

"What is it?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No. We've arrived," Chop Chop said. "I can feel it."

"If you're Arkeyan, of course you can!" Bouncer exclaimed. "Now I just need to see if there's some way for us to enter. I haven't been in this place for quite some time, bros. Please excuse me for some few minutes."

Trigger Happy looked up and saw the mountain covered in fog that rolled away ever so slightly. The sun could be seen only a little, though the fog obscured it from his view. The mountain itself, meanwhile, was completely bare.

Bouncer looked around the bare surface in front of him. He stared for a little, and then went, "Open sesame!"

He turned around to see the annoyed expressions of the others. "That's all I can do."

"Oh, let me see!" Drobot exclaimed. "I've been learning some of the languages in the Skylands Library, and I was halfway through learning Arkeyan when Cynder was first taken, and I haven't been able to get through anymore due to all of this recent crap."

He made his way over to the wall and began speaking in the ancient language none of the others were able to understand.

"_Non hotess. Ons soici. Coenedec osn tirno."_

When he had finished, the secret entrance opened. Drobot turned around and saw that the others were staring at him in amazement.

"What in the heck does that mean? And how did you know it while I didn't?" Bouncer asked.

"It means: 'We are not enemies. We are allies. Allow us inside.' Maybe the reason you do not understand it is because you forgot it while you were missing for those hundreds of years," Drobot explained.

It was true. Bouncer was no ordinary Skylander. He was a Giant, which were twice the size of normal Skylanders. They had gone missing for hundreds of years before they were uncovered by Spyro, Cynder, and Sunburn.

As they entered, Trigger Happy's mouth dropped open. Everything was seemingly metal, the same kind that Bouncer was made of and that Chop Chop's armor was made of.

The secret entrance closed behind them. Lights turned on all around them. They suddenly saw several large Arkeyan robots standing in front of them.

"Who are you?" one of them asked. "What do you want?"

"Bros, do you not recognize me?" Bouncer asked. "It's me, Bouncer!"

They all peered at him, and their machine eyes widened.

"Holy crap, it's been a while!" one exclaimed. "It's good to see you again! What are you doing here?"

"Some of my Skylander friends and I have come to tell your leader about something," Bouncer said. "It's a little more serious, though."

"Ah. Well, then, we will take you to him," the largest guard said. "Come with me."

They entered into a larger room, which was almost the same as the one behind them, only much larger, and this time with a lift that would allow those who could not fly up to a high platform.

"Who are you?" came a deep, mechanical voice. "Why have you come to me here?"

"It is only the guards," the largest one said. "But we have brought friends."

"Friends?" said the voice. "What do you mean?"

"We're Skylanders," Drobot said. "And you might know Bouncer here."

"Bouncer?"

Out of the shadows came a robot larger than most they had ever seen. His machine eyes were red. The whole Arkeyan's body was golden.

"My name is Omega," he explained to them. "Of course, I already know who you are, Bouncer. Who are these others that have come?"

"They are Skylanders. This here is Chop Chop, who actually has Arkeyan armor on. He's one of the Undead Skylanders, but you could probably see that already. This is Drobot. None of the machinery on him is Arkeyan, but he did it all himself, so he's still pretty smart!"

"I see," Omega said. "And what of this smaller one?"

"This is Trigger Happy. He's probably one of the most fun guys I know. But our only problem is that Skylands is not full of fun and games at the moment."

"What do you mean?" Omega's eyes glowed brightly.

"The Wyvern Vathek has threatened us," Drobot explained. "He has killed two leaders in two locations. One was the Gillman Otoro in Leviathan Lagoon and the other was a skeleton down in a town in the Underworld. It is the largest town in the Underworld, if you must know. Three of our Skylanders have respectively witnessed these events, with Camo being there in Leviathan Lagoon. Meanwhile Sunburn and Whirlwind were there in the Underworld. They have both fought enemies that are abnormal. According to them, they control machines. We have come to ask you to join us against Vathek. You need your help. The Gillmen have already decided to join us, and we now need you. Sunburn has gone to warn the leader Ramses, Vathek's half-brother, of this, and we have Slam Bam and Whirlwind investigating Slam Bam's homeworld. I have also heard that the Life element Skylander Stealth Elf is going next to her world."

Having heard it all, Omega came closer to them.

"I am worried now, but I have decided that I shall join you. Both I and my army. We are ready."

"Thank you," Drobot said.

"Hallelujah," said Bouncer.

"I believe we will be going now," Drobot told him. "We came to give you this information, and we have succeeded. Now we shall leave and wait for you. Come to the Ruins as soon as you possibly can. That, we hope, will be before the week is over."

"Wait," Trigger Happy said as Bouncer and Drobot turned around. "I have something to ask you."

"What is it?" Omega asked.

"Have you heard anything about a Black Dragoness being held captive somewhere around here?"

The question made Drobot sigh, and Bouncer placed his palm on his face. They knew who he was asking about.

"What would this Black Dragoness be named?"

"Her name is Cynder," Trigger Happy answered. He saw Omega's eyes widen. "She has been missing for a couple of days, and we want her to be found. She is the mate of our leader, Spyro. He has nearly gone into a depression because of this, sadly."

Omega sighed himself.

"Unfortunately, I have not heard anything. I am sorry," he said. "I hope this does not hurt you too much."

Trigger Happy's face felt hot. He wanted to find Cynder and cheer Spyro up. They were both two of his greatest friends, and he wanted them both to happy for as long as they could.

Suddenly one of the Arkeyan soldiers ran into the room. He was looking frightened by something.

"What is it?" Omega asked him.

"There is a large monster coming. We do not know how it has found us, but it is not normal," the soldier hurriedly explained.

"What kind of monster is it?" Drobot asked.

"I'm not sure. It was flying, it was screaming...I know the name of the creature, but I do not remember!"

"Was the name 'Dreadwing?'"

"Yeah, that's it! But it's seemingly larger than any of those that I have ever seen! I do not know how we will be able to defeat it! They are so strong!"

"You have us!" Bouncer exclaimed.

"Wait, it was larger than normal?" asked Trigger Happy. "How is that possible? We fought some of those a few days ago, and they were about two feet larger than me. How big could this Dreadwing possibly be?"

"We must go and see!" Omega hurried to the opening, but Drobot stopped him from exiting the room. "What do you think you are doing?"

"You must stay here," Drobot ordered him. "If those two other leaders were killed, how do you know you might not be? This creature is larger than normal, and is more dangerous! We Skylanders are experienced, as we have fought many enemies like this."

He was simply lying about facing many like it. He just wanted the Arkeyan leader to be safe.

"Fine," Omega said. "I will wait. But when you are done, come to me. Be sure the creature is dead before you enter back in here."

As the three Skylanders made their way to the outside, they found the Dreadwing waiting for them. And it was big.

The creature was close to the height of Bouncer. This scared them, but they were ready to fight it.

Bouncer shot finger rockets at the Dreadwing, causing it to scream in pain. It reared back, and they dodged as it released its sonic scream. Trigger Happy then shot his two golden guns at it, with the golden coins painfully riding right into it.

Drobot shot lasers at it, burning it severely. The creature seemed to be weaker than they had at first believed.

But then the creature closed its and released fire at them. Trigger Happy was hit by an aftershock but not by the attack itself.

He hit his head on the side of a rock, causing there to be a small bleeding cut on his head.

Angry and confused, he combined his guns into a machine gun and shot as fast as he possibly could, breaking the Dreadwing's entire body.

As it was about to release the fire again, there was a large sword thrown out of nowhere. It sank deeply into the Dreadwing's body, killing it instantly.

Looking around for the source of the sword, they saw Omega standing above them. He retreated back inside, knowing his danger.

Trigger Happy looked over at the sword, seeing that it was made of pure plasma, which Arkeyan attacks that had to do with energy were normally fueled by. The sword disappeared, which made him realize it was just an attack, and that the sword wasn't one's to keep.

The three Skylanders returned. Thinking back to the reports from earlier, they had done the best, and they'd done without an injury. Although Trigger Happy had a cut, it was only that, a cut.

As they found themselves back where they'd first met Omega, he stood there in front of them.

"I will join you most certainly," he said. "I must tell my people of this, and then you may go."

"Where are your people?" Trigger Happy inquired. "I only see your guards here with us."

Omega turned around and beckoned them to join him on the lift. They did so, and when they had reached the top, he went over to a door.

As he opened it, the three Skylanders saw thousands of Arkeyan robots there. It was hard to tell which were male and which were female.

"Hello, my people," Omega greeted. "I have come with troubling news. These three Skylanders have told me that the dark Wyvern Vathek has planned to take over Skylands. They've asked us to join them, and they have proven themselves by saving my life, and now I am in their debt. Those of you who are of age or are old enough to fight may join us. We shall leave tomorrow for the Ruins to meet them, and then we shall prepare to attack Vathek and defeat him. This may be a daunting task, but we have power enough to win. Now, who is with me?"

Many of the Arkeyan soldiers yelled and cheered, ready to join him. Omega turned to the three Skylanders.

"There you go," he said. "Now, we must prepare. I'd suggest you leave just in case. We shall be seeing you very soon!" He turned his back and closed the door.

As they left, Trigger Happy smiled. "That wasn't so bad," he said. "Now we have the Gillmen and the Arkeyans on our side. Does anyone know if the Underworld has decided to join us?"

"No, because we left not long after Sunburn and Whirlwind returned from there," Drobot said. "But I am sure that they will. I am very sure, and most of the time, I am right."

"But you know Drobot, sometimes there are things that you may not completely say or know," Trigger Happy told him. "As the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover!"

Drobot thought for a minute about that saying, and somehow it seemed to ring true to him.


	11. Monsters in the Night

**Chapter 11**

**Monsters in the Night**

Spyro thought to himself, wondering what had happened to the Dragoness he loved. None of those who had returned from their respective locations to gather soldiers had given him any news on her whereabouts, which scared him.

He wondered still if Kaos had something to do with it, but even then it never made sense. He just wanted to find her soon and make everything seem normal again. That's what it had seemed when they'd been together on peaceful days.

But the past few days had been more of Hell to them. But they'd stayed as strong as they could. It had ended with him receiving injuries, but she'd still protected him. Now she was gone, and he couldn't believe it.

In only one night it had happened, much to his surprise. He wished he could have seen her one last time before she'd gone away.

Had she been kidnapped? That was the one question he asked himself more than anything. Nothing else seemed right other than that suggestion, and he'd told himself to never think of her dying. It wouldn't do well to him.

He was still plagued with dreams, and every time he wanted sleep, they kept returning and hurting him. It was something he could no longer stand. The last one had been with an image of Cynder. As he'd stretched out a paw to reach her, she'd started fading away.

When he'd woken, he started crying. Hex had comforted him. She understood better than anyone else what Cynder had gone through, other than himself and Sonic Boom, and she seemed to understand him very well.

_Cynder, please come back! _he thought to himself. It was the most painful he'd ever dealt with, even worse than when Kaos had broken his ribs. He couldn't take it anymore.

Despite knowing that he needed help, he wasn't going to admit it to anyone. How would he, the leader of the Skylanders, look to those who trusted him and looked up to him? It wouldn't do well for him at all.

On the same day as Camo had returned and the others had been sent out, Spyro had attempted to sleep five different times, each of those attempts ending with a nightmare.

He wanted it to end. He couldn't take the pain or the suffering. He seemed to be the only one who had suffered the pain of losing the one he loved.

As twilight fell, Spyro found himself at the Core. For some reason the new color of the beam seemed to comfort him, but he still didn't believe it to be the same comfort as he'd been given by Cynder.

"Hello, Spyro," said Hex's voice behind him. "How are you doing?"

"Not good," he answered. "I'm having so much trouble right now. I just can't take it anymore!"

"Is it those dreams you've been having?" she asked.

"How did you know?"

"I've been having them, as well. They're painful, and you want them to go away and never come back. But I feel these dreams might be attempting to tell you something."

"What do you mean? How can they tell me anything? They always end with me dying! How is that supposed to teach me a darn thing?"

"Because I believe I have a solution to what is happening. Of course, I need better information on what it is that you've been seeing. It would help to talk. When this is over, you will have some closure on the pain you've gone through. But of course, the pain will not completely go away at first."

"What can make the pain go away for good?" Spyro asked, although he already knew the answer.

"When Cynder returns, you will have full closure, and these nightmares might just stop. Mine might stop as well. But we'll have to wait and see."

"Hex, I've gone through so much pain. How much more can I take? How much more can Cynder take? She nearly became her corrupted self just to save me. Thanks to Kaos, she nearly revealed the secret that we don't want anyone else to know."

"Spyro, this hasn't been easy for any of us. Cynder's always been a hero, no matter what. Her corruption was a bump in her path, but it was a painful one nonetheless. That's why we must stay with her through whatever she goes through."

Spyro smiled, although it was more of a hint of one than it was real. He needed his mate back, and he needed her back soon. Without her, he could barely live to fight anymore. She was his strength, and he was hers. They'd gone through many battles together, and they'd decided to spend the rest of their lives with one another. That was what helped both of them through whatever they'd gone through.

As both Spyro and Hex stood there in silence, Cali came up to them both. They turned around once they heard her footsteps.

"What is it?" Hex asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she answered back. "But you should come and hear this."

As they arrived in the healing tent, they found Sunburn, Sonic Boom, Whirlwind, Slam Bam, and a whole bunch of Yetis standing in there with them.

"Who are all of you?" Hex asked the Yetis.

"We are the inhabitants of the Empire of Ice," their leader said. "I am not only their leader, but I am also Slam Bam's father. We have come to help the Skylanders in any way that we can."

"Thank you," Spyro said. "We need it right now. Did either of you-" Spyro stopped talking when he saw Slam Bam's wound. "What happened?"

"There was trouble, and this time, it was a troll that had been enhanced with some sort of serum," Whirlwind explained. "It was tested a while ago, but the serum itself and the results were stolen only a small time ago. It was used on a troll. Although both Slam Bam and I killed it, the thing left its mark."

"But we did get some soldiers," Slam Bam said.

"What about you guys?" Hex asked Sunburn and Sonic Boom. "What happened with you?"

"It went without too much of a hitch," Sunburn explained, partially lying to them. "And now we have Ramses and his army on our side."

"That's really good," Spyro said. "We're not far from defeating Vathek now. But when you said that the serum and its results were stolen, Whirlwind, that didn't seem like Vathek's normal behavior. Usually he just finds stuff and either builds or destroys it. He does not usually steal things."

"What are you trying to say, Spyro?" Sonic Boom asked him.

"I think Kaos might be involved somehow," he said. "And that means we have more problems on our hands than we know what to do with. Does anyone know where Trigger Happy, Bouncer, and Drobot are?"

"I heard from Bouncer that they're on their way back," Cali told him.

"Good, because we need to know if they've gotten the Arkeyan army on our side or not."

"Oh we have!" came Trigger Happy's voice from outside the tent. He entered, followed by Drobot. "We've got them, and they're coming tomorrow, luckily." He looked around, smiling, and saw Cali staring at the cut on his head. "Oh, and this came from an enhanced Dreadwing, just so you know. It was bigger than most, but we took care of it quite easily, and the leader is safe. Are we waiting for anyone else now?"

"Yes," Spyro told him. "Stealth Elf has gone to look for those who can help us in the Life Forest. When she returns, I believe we might have just enough to make our way towards Dragon's Peak and help protect them. Now that we've learned Kaos is in it, the last thing we need to do is find Cynder."

Spyro turned to Trigger Happy. "What did you find?"

"I'm sorry, but I didn't get any info on her at all," Trigger Happy explained, seeing that his friend was now anxious. "Jeez, buddy, you need to calm down! I know she's your mate, but just remember that we will find her!"

"I CAN'T, ALRIGHT? I NEED TO BE WITH HER! I HAVE NOTHING TO LIVE FOR WITHOUT HER!"

The words had come out of his mouth without him even realizing it. That was the effect of his stress. But it was all true. Spyro looked around and saw that the Yetis had all been scared by that.

"I'm sorry," Spyro said. "I've been going through so much, but nothing feels right. I feel almost as if everything's been fading away from me. It hurts so much. I nearly lost her once, and I don't want to go down that path again."

"We do not blame you, Spyro," Slam Bam's father said. "How long have you been in this pain?"

"It's not physical, but...maybe a little more than three or four days. I have gone through many physical changes, as well. Kaos nearly killed me, but Cynder was able to stop him...I just don't know what to do anymore."

He turned his back on them. "I'm going back to the treehouse. If you need me, come and get me."

When he was gone, Sunburn shook his head. "He needs someone to help him. His worst fears are coming back to him."

"What are his worst fears?" Sonic Boom asked.

"I think both you and I know the answer to that question."

As Spyro fell off to sleep that night, everything he hated came back to him. The evil red eyes, the menacing voice...

"_Get ready to die!" the voice told him. "No one can help you now. Your little mate is dead, and I was the one who killed her. What more do you have to live for?"_

Spyro jumped out of bed, sobbing hard. He couldn't take it anymore! He needed to find Cynder, and he needed to do so soon, before something bad actually did happen to her.

He knew he needed someone to help him clear his mind. He would be needing it for later, for when he fought against Vathek and his army.

But who was it that he could turn to? Stealth Elf had gone off to her homeworld, and she was the calmest of the Skylanders most of the time.

Although Cali came into mind, he knew she was dealing with her own troubles. Almost all of the Skylanders were, and Spyro couldn't blame them.

He tried breathing in and out. He tried to remember when he and Cynder had first joined the Skylanders. She'd been very unsure at first, as being in the Undead Element had forced her to think of her past.

But he'd comforted her, and that was when Eon had decided to make Cynder his second-in-command. Many of the Skylanders had been angry with the decision, not believing that she was ready for it.

But he'd only done it so that Spyro and Cynder were with each other much more, as they had just decided to become mates. Spyro smiled, thinking of those times, but still the nightmares he'd gone through were troubling him.

The red eyes were what scared him most. He wanted it all to be over. He needed someone who was experienced in helping others with their problems, and that was when one Skylander popped into his mind: Hex.

She'd helped Cynder very well after they'd saved her from Malefor, and both of them had similar backstories, which allowed them to have the same sort of pain. Hex was also the first Skylander Cynder had told of her past, other than Spyro, who'd already known it.

Spyro took off from the treehouse and tried to find where Hex might have gone. He soon found her by the Core. Seeing her there reminded Spyro of the night after Cynder's rescue, where he'd found her there. But this was a different situation.

"Hello, Spyro," she greeted. "I'm not too surprised that you came."

"You knew already?" Spyro asked.

"Yes. You want therapy for what you've had to deal with in your dreams. You want me to help you, and I am willing, because I know the pain you have gone through, and the pain Cynder has gone through."

"I'm sure she'll be needing a lot when we find her," Spyro said. "I just want to find her. I can't deal with us being so far away from one another. It's not normal for us. When we became mates, we decided we would never leave each others' side, and now look; it's all gone so wrong."

"But it wasn't your fault. These dreams, or nightmares, that you've had, they're nothing more than monsters in the night. It's not something we need to worry about. You will get over this, and then, we will find Cynder."

"Thank you so much, Hex. I don't know what we'd do without you," Spyro told her, referring to him and Cynder. "And thank you for being such a good friend of Cynder's."

"I realize how many do not trust her, but one thing they do not realize is her past. We hope they do not learn of it, of course. Either way, it's just as the saying goes, 'Don't judge a book by its cover.'"


	12. Overcoming Your Worst Fear

**Chapter 12**

**Overcoming Your Worst Fear**

Hex brought him near the medical tent. Spyro was hopeful about working through it all with Hex. He knew she'd do the best, due to her experience with Cynder. Spyro smiled as he thought that, seeing that he shared something more with his mate.

If only he knew where she was...

"Alright," Hex said, floating in front of Spyro. "I need you to close your eyes. And when I say you need to open them, do so. Now, close your eyes." Spyro did so. "And clear your mind." Spyro did his best for that, although it was hard for him. "Just think of your happiest memory, and once that's done, concentrate on that."

Spyro did his best to remember his happiest memory, and that was when it came.

It was the day he and Cynder had decided to become mates. It had been such a beautiful autumn day.

"Now open your eyes," Hex told him, although Spyro noticed her voice had seemed to fade away.

Spyro did open his eyes, though, and found himself right in the middle of his happiest memory. It had happened three years ago.

He saw the leaves falling. He felt the cool wind on his body, which amazed him. He saw himself standing near the Core of Light. He was smiling much more brightly than he'd done in a few months. Sunburn stood next to him, also smiling brightly.

Turning around, he saw those who'd attended. As neither of them had family members, it had only been their friends. There had been only eight attendants (excluding Sunburn and Sonic Boom), as Spyro didn't allow those who didn't completely trust Cynder: Trigger Happy, Gill Grunt, Master Eon, Hex, Flynn, Cali, Chop Chop, and Ghost Roaster.

The real Spyro looked at the pathway that led up to where his other self stood. And then he saw her.

Cynder, with Sonic Boom behind her, made her way towards him. She was smiling brightly. Her normal iron jewelry had been taken off, replaced by some with no spikes at all. A sapphire necklace hung around her neck, and it seemingly made her eyes of the same color sparkle even more. Her beauty brought happy tears to Spyro's eyes.

Spyro realized she wasn't limping, which reminded him that this memory had taken place a week after she'd saved the Mabu inhabitants, which had resulted in a twisted ankle, and after she'd become his second-in-command.

When she'd reached him, Master Eon stood up and went to where they were standing. He read out to them their vows, which ended with them saying, "I will," including him asking, "Will you protect your mate as well as you can and prevent them from being taken or injured?"

Both of them had agreed that they would there, and Spyro felt painful tears coming to his eyes, realizing how he'd gone against that vow, how he'd allowed her to be taken against her will twice.

But his mood changed when he heard Eon say, "Spyro, Cynder, you are now binded together and have become mates. Spyro, you may now kiss Cynder."

His past self did so, and she returned it happily. They then embraced, crying tears of joy, while their friends happily clapped and cried themselves.

And then it all went dark.

Spyro heard a voice say something, and opened his eyes. He was back at the Ruins, and it was night. He was back in the real world.

He realized he was crying. The memory had been so amazing to him. He wished it had stayed that way forever.

Looking over at Hex, he saw she was crying herself, which was the strangest thing he'd ever seen. The most emotion he'd ever seen from her was sorrow, pain, or happiness, but it had never ended with her crying.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to peek into the memory. I can't control that too well."

"It's alright," he said. "You were there anyway."

"That's true. Was that your happiest memory?"

"Yes. When we became mates, it was the best time we'd ever had. But one thing I now remember is when Eon had asked us to agree that we would never allow our mate to be injured or taken from us, and I failed at those. She's been taken twice from me."

"Yes, she has, but that does not mean you have failed," Hex explained. "You've done a great job with keeping her safe. It's just that you were caught off-guard the first time. But now, the reason why you should not blame yourself is because you were badly injured. She saved you, and afterward, I'm sure she felt she'd failed on the vow as well. But neither of you have failed. You need to understand that. Now, although that memory was your best, I need to find where all these nightmares have been coming from. And there's only one way in which I can do that. You need to have one."

"Wait, what?" Spyro exclaimed. "I need to have a nightmare? Why?"

"It's the only way. When it comes to dreams and nightmares, I cannot go that deep. I can only travel into your memories. Now, I believe you will need to fall asleep. But I do not know if you will have a nightmare; that is our only problem."

"Alright, Hex," Spyro said. "I'll do it. And don't worry. I will have a nightmare. I just hope it's not the worst one I could ever not hope for."

Spyro closed his eyes and fought for sleep. He finally dozed off after five minutes of battling for it, and Hex then tried to wait for it to happen.

And when it did, she was ready.

Spyro suddenly found himself in the nightmarish landscape in which most of his nightmares had taken place. He heard the voice.

"_Have you come here to die?"_ they asked him.

"No," he answered back firmly, although there was some sort of a sob hidden in there. "I just want to know where Cynder is!"

"_She is gone, replaced by the darkness. You must come and allow me to end your misery. You must die..."_

"NO! I won't allow that! I need to see Cynder! I need to see my mate! I NEED TO!"

He felt claws on his shoulder, and then they dug in, drawing blood. He screamed in agony.

"_So you wish to see her? Then fine. Just turn around and this will all be over. If you wish to see her, turn around..."_

Spyro did as the voice was asking, and found himself looking into the evil red eyes. And then he felt the claws sink into his heart.

He woke with a startle, realizing it'd all been one of the nightmares. But it was all over.

He looked to Hex, who seemed to be very shaken up.

"Hex, what is it? What happened?" he asked her. "Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just...your nightmare," she said. "It was strange, but for some reason I understood it. Spyro, tell me, what is your worst fear?"

"I can't tell you that. I'm sorry, but I can't."

"You can trust me, Spyro. After all, Cynder told me first out of all the other Skylanders her backstory. You know you can trust me well. Please, I'm only trying to help you."

"Alright..." He gulped, as it was hard for him to tell another, no matter how much he trusted them. "My worst fear is seeing Cynder corrupted."

Silence fell.

And then, "Why is that your worst fear?" Hex asked.

"Because I love Cynder so much, and if she's hurt in such a way that she can't remember that we're mates and love each other more than anything else in the world, then I don't know how I can keep moving on. It feels as if I'm dead on the inside. Almost as if I can't breathe anymore. It just hurts."

Hex stared at him, saddened by that, but she knew that they'd be able to overcome his nightmares now, and that it would take much to do.

"Spyro, I think I know what it is that's in your nightmare. Those red eyes, and that voice...it must be Cynder's corrupted form, your worst fear! It's all coming back to hurt you and to force you to give up all hope in finding her! If you can defeat your worst fear there, then I'm sure you won't have to deal with the nightmares anymore! They'll be gone!"

Spyro realized she was right, and now he was ready, both to end the nightmares and conquer his worst fear.

He closed his eyes and thought of the nightmare. Suddenly he found himself back in the nightmarish landscape. He turned around before the voice could speak and found Cynder in her corrupted form, covered in shadow. Her red eyes blazed like a wildfire.

"So, you've come to end this?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied. "I don't need to fear you anymore. All I need now is the love of my life back, and when I get her back, you won't be there anymore. I won't have to deal with you anymore. I'll have her to help me."

"She's lost forever!" the corrupted monster said. "She cannot be recovered any longer!"

Spyro saw the monster raise her bladed tail and attempt to strike it at him. He dodged. He wished he still had his elemental abilities back. He'd used them all up to save Cynder from her corrupted form, and now he believed he might just be able to get them back. But there was still some sort of a doubt in his mind.

He pushed back the doubt and thought clearly. As the corrupted monster attempted to rake him with her claws, he released a torrent of flames, causing her to shriek out in pain.

"What is this?" the monster cried. "How is this possible? Aren't you supposed to be afraid of me? How is this all possible? This cannot be!"

"I'm sorry, but it is," Spyro said. "You might still be my worst fear, but I don't need to worry about you anymore. Good-bye."

He turned away, leaving her to cry out. But he didn't care. It was all over, and he now had the strength to move on past the nightmares and the hesitation. He was ready to find Cynder.

He opened his eyes and smiled at Hex.

"Thank you so much," he said. "I did it! I overcame that fear! And now, there's one added bonus!" He lifted up his head and released a steady burst of fire, which caused Hex to smile.

"This is very good. Now you're ready to continue on, aren't you?"

"Yes, and it's thanks to both you and my love for Cynder that I'm still standing here. Thank you so much, Hex."

They saw that the dawn had finally broken. The other Skylanders were finally starting to awaken.

Cali found the two of them standing there. She was surprised. Both saw dark circles under her eyes, signifying her need for rest.

"Good morning," she greeted. "Why are you both here?"

"I've overcome my worst fear and I'm ready to move on," Spyro answered. "That, and I've recovered my elemental abilities, thanks to Hex."

"That's great!" Cali exclaimed. "I never knew that could all be done in one night! Now what will you do?"

"I know that we're still waiting on Stealth Elf to come back from the Life Realm, and when she does with an army, we should be set to move out to Dragon's Peak and help Ramses against Vathek."

There was suddenly the noise of heavy footsteps. They looked around to see the source of it, and then found it.

Many Arkeyan robots were coming towards them, and Spyro realized it was another part of their army. He smiled at the thought.

The Skylanders who were already awake just stared at them as they arrived. Entering through one of the main gates, the largest of them all waved his hand so as to allow the others to know he was friendly and was not an enemy.

"Where can I find your leader?" he asked in a powerful voice. "Where is Spyro?"

"I am here," Spyro said, showing himself.

"Ah, so you are Spyro," the leader said. "I am Omega, the leader of the remaining Arkeyans. I was aked to come by some of your friends."

"Yes, we need your help. I am sure he's told you the story?" Spyro asked him.

"Yes, it was very unfortunate. Now, when shall we go to this mysterious Dragon's Peak?"

"We'll start there in 2 days. We're still waiting for the Life Element Skylander Stealth Elf. I sent her to her home Realm, and she possibly will not return until either tonight or tomorrow."

"I see," Omega said. "I understand. Where shall we stay during this time?"

"It's up to you. Of course, the treehouses over there are all taken," Hex told them.

"And who might you be?" Omega asked her.

"My name is Hex. I am one of Spyro's closest friends," she explained. "I am glad you have come. We needed you. We do not the full strength of Vathek's army, but we do have a sizeable amount with us, as well."

"What do you mean?" one of Omega's soldiers asked.

"We have others from the Empire of Ice here. We believe some of the Underworld will be coming up to help us very soon," Spyro explained. "We will discuss our plans more, but for right now, I'm taking a break. I really need one. I hope you enjoy your stay, Omega, and I'm glad you're here with us."

"It is my honor," he told the small Purple Dragon. "I will not leave your side in battle no matter what."

Spyro nodded and walked away. He found Sunburn coming his way and smiled as his friend approached.

"What's going on?" Sunburn asked him. "Why are you so happy?"

"I regained my elemental abilities," Spyro said. "And so now I'm ready to fight for Dragon's Peak."

"That's great! Who helped you?"

"Hex. Of course, the thought of Cynder did, as well. It's thanks to her I no longer have to deal with whatever my worst fear throws at me. Now all that I need to do is end this war and find Cynder. When that's done, I'm taking a break from being here for a while."

"Trust me, I hear you. I guess you, Cynder, Sonic Boom, and I can all hang out when it's all done."

"I hope so. We just need to hope right now."


	13. The Forest of Life

**Chapter 13**

**The Forest of Life**

Stealth Elf traveled through the undergrowth. Although it had caused her to stumble a little due to the fact that she hadn't been there in a while.

She had decided not to travel with anyone, as it would not fit too well for her. The only times she ever did wish to join others on a mission was if it had to deal with Kaos, any of the Skylanders' enemies, or if she was forced to. But what still seemed strange to her was the fact that, despite her being secluded from most other than her Element and some friends, she was still more trusted than Cynder was, which hurt her.

She wanted Cynder to be trusted more. She was very much loved by her friends and her mate, but none of the others were wanting to trust her. And now she'd gone missing, much to the horror of Spyro and her friends.

Stealth Elf did her best to get her mind off of such a thing and to concentrate on the situation at hand. She needed to find the Life Realm's leader before anything bad happened to them.

If it had already happened to the leader of Leviathan Lagoon, then there would most likely be an attempt made on the life of the Life Realm's.

Looking up, she saw the sun break through the thick branches that seemed to intertwine together. She could see that she wasn't far from her destination. The old legend in the Life Realm said that when the sun could only partially be seen and the trees were close together, civilization was not far.

Stealth Elf didn't understand the complete meaning, but she just thought, _Whatever they say goes._

And then she heard it. There was talking on one of the sides of the forest, but Stealth Elf realized it wasn't the same as those she knew in the Realm.

Just so as to be careful, she placed her hands on her Dragon-fang daggers, which at the moment were sheathed, although she could quickly take them out and attack her enemies just as soon as they caught a glimpse of her.

Peering through the plants that grew high up into the sky, she saw soldiers holding weapons and wearing the sigil of Vathek, which scared Stealth Elf. She realized that there would be a battle here in her home Realm, which meant she'd need to be careful, and that she would have to protect the leader of the Realm.

She started listening intently.

"Come on, Vathek told us to hurry and kill the leader before the Skylanders could arrive!" one of them said. "What's taking you so long?"

"Nothing's taking me long at all, you idiot!" one of the snapped. "We're on our way over there now! If there was a Skylander around, then they'd have already come out and tried killing us, know what I mean?"

One of the others sighed. "Ah, to heck with it! You don't know the Skylanders well enough, do you? Have you ever fought them before?"

"No, of course not!" they said back.

"I thought so. No soldier can survive when it's all the Skylanders against them. Of course, they have eight strong members, from what I've been told and what I've heard."

"Yeah? And what would be their names, pray tell?"

"Their leader, Spyro, is one of them. Then there's this Hybrid Sunburn, along with a Griffiness he loves named Sonic Boom. She has someone from her Element, a Hybrid named Whirlwind. Then comes this little thing named Camo, along with a friend of his. I think they call her Stealth Elf or something like that."

"Wait, you've only mentioned six," one of the soldiers told him. "What about the other two?"

"There's this Dark Elf Witch named Hex. She's said to have nearly vanquished the Dark Master, Malefor. And then there's the worst of all. Some say she _did _vanquish Malefor. At least, that's what I've heard from Kaos."

"What's this one's name? Should I know it?"

"You should. The last one's name is Cynder."

Stealth Elf couldn't listen anymore. Although she didn't know what to believe with them saying she'd vanquished the Dark Master, but she couldn't even think of the words "worst of all" being used to describe Cynder.

She seemed so nice, and yet they were talking about her as if she was a monster! Stealth Elf remembered the murderous look in Cynder's sapphire-blue eyes when Kaos had injured Spyro, but she couldn't blame her.

Returning her thoughts to the mission at hand, Stealth Elf concentrated on her last memory of the Life Village, which was right in the middle of the forest. She was trying to teleport herself to it, hoping it would work. She knew the dangers of doing so, as she could not completely see where she was going.

She used the teleportation ability when she'd concentrated well enough, and when she opened her eyes, she was right there at the entrance to the village.

Stealth Elf saw some of the villagers staring at her with strange expressions. They recognized her, though.

"What in the heck are you doing here?" one of them asked. "I thought surely you would be somewhere else. You're a Skylander now, aren't you?"

"I am," Stealth Elf said. "I need to see the Mother. Please. It's a very urgent situation, and it needs to be done now!"

"I am here," said a tired voice to her left. Stealth Elf looked in that direction to see an older Elf coming towards her, a staff in her hand. "Follow me, young one. I am happy to see you."

Stealth Elf followed the leader into her home. When the old Elf had sat down, she looked into Stealth Elf's eyes and smiled as brightly as she possibly could.

"It is good to see you again, my daughter," her mother said. "But I must ask, why are you here?"

"We have a serious problem. The Wyvern Vathek has threatened the Skylanders, and has even gone far enough to kill Otoro, the leader of Leviathan Lagoon, and one of the leaders of the Underworld," Stealth Elf explained. "The leader of the Skylanders has sent many of us out to see if we might be able to get soldiers for this upcoming battle against this monster. I want to know if you'll join us. We would very much appreciate it."

"I will think about it..."

"And there are soldiers of Vathek's on the way to kill you."

The last one caught her mother completely off-guard. Her eyes had widened, and Stealth Elf could now see fear in her glowing light-green eyes.

"How do you know this?" she gasped.

"Because I saw them," Stealth Elf told her. "I saw it on the way over here. Before they arrive, you must tell the others. I can fight them with my Dragon-fang daggers, but I wouldn't mind a little help from some of those I know."

"I see. I will allow others to help you, but we must be careful. I cannot allow any of my people to be killed. Can you promise me they will not, please."

"I promise."

Stealth Elf ran back out of the home. But then she noticed the soldiers. They had arrived in the village. She looked back at her mother. Just one warning glance allowed her to know to stay inside and to not come out until the coast was clear.

"What are you about to do?" one of the male Elves asked her. "How will you defend yourself?"

But Stealth Elf paid no mind to him and made her way forward. One of the soldiers finally noticed her and laughed.

"What's the matter?" he asked softly. "Are you angry at us for coming to your Realm? Are you angry that we're about to kill your leader?"

"No," Stealth Elf replied. She reached her hands down to her sheaths and whipped out the Dragon-fang daggers, which caused the smile to be wiped right off the soldier's face, as well as the other soldiers who'd begun laughing. "I'm just wanting you to go, and if you say no, then you'll have to pay the consequences."

One of the soldiers then smiled again. He turned around, and Stealth Elf suddenly saw one of the worst things ever in her life: an enhanced version of the soldiers was making its way towards her.

It was a giant wolf, snarling and drooling as if it were rabid. Although scared, Stealth Elf decided she would be fighting the creature. She needed to if her mother would send soldiers with her back to the Ruins.

"You sure you wanna fight me, little girl?" the wolf asked her. "I can take you down pretty easily, I'm sure!"

"Have fun with that," Stealth Elf told him.

She ran at the enhanced soldier, jumped high into the air and landed on his head. She kicked him as hard as she could and then teleported away, causing him to claw himself in the head, drawing a little blood.

"How did you do that?" he asked. "It's not possible! None of the crap you're doing should be possible!"

"I'm sorry to say, but if it's not possible, then how am I doing it?" Stealth Elf said. She had the Dragon-fang daggers ready to stab down when the time was right. It seemed to her that she wouldn't be needing help. "Of course, being a Skylander helps a lot."

The wolf ran at her again. He made the very unlucky mistake of leaving his chest wide open. She teleported right in front of him, and despite the fact that she was knocked into one of the trees, one of the daggers was embedded in the creature's heart.

Sputtering and speaking incomprehensibly, the wolf fell on its back, eyes wide open, dead.

It seemed to have taken less time than Stealth Elf had believed it would. She went to recover her dagger out of its chest. But suddenly the trees behind her rustled and found two more enhanced wolves. They were taller than the last one. But Stealth Elf was ready to take them on. If they dared to mess with her, they would be very sorry soon.

One of them growled and barked at her, while the other slobbered and stared at her rabidly.

"What in the heck are you waiting for?" one of the Elves behind Stealth Elf asked her. "Why are you still standing there? Kill them now!"

"If I attack now, then they'll be expecting it," she explained. "They're rabid due to what they've been enhanced with, meaning that they have no minds. But almost every rabid animal can expect what might be to come from an opponent if the opponent is the one to attack first. I must allow them to attack before I can."

Right on cue, the slobbering beast dashed straight into her path, claws outstretched.

But Stealth Elf teleported right out of the way, leaving him to run into a rock hard. She looked to the other wolf, who was standing there still, watching her now very intently, almost as if to study her movements.

But it was too stupid to realize that she would teleport away from her spot to behind it. The wolf looked around for her. Although it could smell her, the enhancement serum hadn't helped it with knowing where to turn once it located the right scent.

Stealth Elf stabbed the wolf in the leg, causing it to howl out in pain. The blood dripped into the grass. Stealth Elf realized she needed to move, and jumped onto the wolf just as it kicked backwards, leaving five long scratch marks on the bark of a tree.

As she was already up there, Stealth Elf plunged one of her daggers into the wolf's head, which was an instant death. But there was still one more wolf to be taken care of.

Getting down from the wolf's dead body, she looked at the other, still staring at her as if she was its dinner. Its yellow eyes didn't seem focused at all. In fact, they resembled the eyes of someone having suffered a concussion. They'd been tortured, it seemed, to take the enhancement serum. This made Stealth Elf angry, believing no one should have to be tortured in such a way.

"I'm sorry for what you've gone through, but this is the only way this can work," she told the wolf. "You need to be put out of your misery."

The wolf ran at her, and although she teleported away, the wolf's claws were able to scratch her at the right moment, leaving three bloody marks in her side. Paying them no mind, Stealth Elf made herself teleport onto the wolf's head. The wolf reached up and grabbed her, catching Stealth Elf by surprise. But before the wolf could do anything, she used one of her Dragon-fang daggers to slit the beast's throat. She was released as it fell to the ground.

Panting hard, she turned to the soldiers, who were running away, completely scared. She paid them no mind. She then turned to her fellow Elves, who were staring at her in surprise, having not expected her to do such a thing. But what Stealth Elf wanted most was to see her mother and ask her to join the Skylanders against Vathek.

She saw her standing at the entrance of her home, smiling. Hurrying over, Stealth Elf said, "I'm glad you weren't hurt."

"I am glad as well," her mother said. "I saw you get clawed by the monster. Are you alright? Are you bleeding from the wound?"

"Yes, but it's nothing too serious," Stealth Elf assured her. "When we get back to the Ruins, I can fix it up quickly. But for right now, we must get you out of her before something else happens!"

Her mother nodded. "Listen to me!" she called out to the other Elves in the village. "My daughter wants us to fight alongside her and her fellow Skylanders in a battle against the monstrous Wyvern known as Vathek! I must ask, are there any of you who would wish to join alongside her and fight? If so, come and talk with her. When it is over, those who decided to join will come with us back to the Ruins, where the other Skylanders are waiting." She began retreating back into her home. "Good luck, Stella."

Stealth Elf winced at the use of her real name. "Mother," she whispered. "That is not the name I would like you to use when we are near the other Skylanders!"

"What is it that they call you there, young one?"

"Stealth Elf."

"Hm...very promising. Is there anything else you are known for there among your friends?"

"I'm the leader of the Life Element and I help our healer Cali when other Skylanders have been injured or are sick," Stealth Elf quickly explained. "But please, never use my real name among the others! I do not wish for them to know!"

"I understand," her mother told her. "Do not worry, I will not make any mistake with that."

She leaned down and gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek, then left her to continue on her work with those who wanted to fight alongside her and the other Skylanders.

When she was finished with the many who had decided to join, Stealth Elf went back into her mother's home.

"It's done, Mother," she said. "Many have decided to join us. Now we should be on our way to the Ruins."

"Alright," her mother said, getting up off her seat. "I'm sorry if I'm slow. Being nearly 90 years old does not help when it comes to being the leader. Of course, most Elves are not like me when they're my age, but I've gone through a lot."

"I understand," Stealth Elf assured. "When you're a Skylander, there's a lot you have to go through. One of our friends just recently went missing."

"What was her name?"

"Cynder. She's Spyro's mate, and now we've tried to find her for some time. Have you heard anything about a Black Dragoness somewhere? We need to find her and quick!"

"Unfortunately, I've not heard anything on her."

Before Stealth Elf could speak again, they heard one of the Elves yell out loud, "Soldier!"

Stealth Elf ran out of the room and found the soldier standing there, holding some sort of a recorder. Although he was a wolf, he was not enhanced, unlike the others. But he was smiling. The smile barely reached his gray eyes.

"What do you want?" Stealth Elf demanded.

"I've come with a message from Emperor Kaos," they said. Stealth Elf's eyes widened. "He recorded it on here and told me to listen closely at the end, for some reason. And just so you know, you can have out your leader. We don't want her anymore. After you killed the enhanced soldiers, those of us who are normal are too scared to come anywhere near you with weapons."

"Then I am here," came the voice of Stealth Elf's mother. "What is the message?"

The soldier pressed the play button on the recorder, and suddenly they could hear Kaos's high-pitched and very annoying voice.

"If the Skylanders are hearing this, then I must tell you that this Wednesday the Wyvern Vathek and I will attack Dragon's Peak. If you dare to get in our way, we will destroy you! And if you somehow manage to defeat us, which I'm sure is something that will never happen otherwise, I have something that will scare the living daylights out of you!"

There was a sudden roaring noise, one that struck fear right into the heart of Stealth Elf, her mother, and all the other Elves present.

At last it was over. The soldier started walking away. "I hope you and all the other Skylanders die," he growled. Suddenly there was a flash of light and the soldier was gone.

"We have to go," Stealth Elf said. "We need to hurry back to the Ruins as fast as we can, before something real bad happens. Come on!"

Stealth Elf, her mother, and those who'd decided to fight alongside the Skylanders started running through the undergrowth, hoping they'd arrive back there in time.


	14. To Dragon's Peak

**Chapter 14**

**To Dragon's Peak**

Spyro stood on the balcony of the treehouse, his mind still on Cynder and where she might be. It was still hard for him to think of where she might have been taken.

But his best guess was that she'd been imprisoned by Vathek. He hoped it was the right guess; he also hoped it didn't turn out like last time.

It was right at that moment he heard the flapping of wings. He saw Whirlwind coming towards him. Her face was alive with both glee and excitement, although she was not smiling.

"Spyro, Stealth Elf's back!" she said. "And she has a whole lot of good news, from what I've been told, and something that might scare you a little."

Spyro flew off behind her. "What do you mean, scare me?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," she said. "But that's what Stealth Elf told me. I'm scared already just hearing that. What about you?"

Spyro didn't answer. He just wanted to know what had happened and what was about to happen.

When they arrived there near the Core, they found Stealth Elf in the healing tent getting a wound on her side patched up by Cali. A whole group of Elves were near her. The oldest-looking one was the one Spyro took to be the leader.

"What happened?" Spyro asked her.

"I'll explain it," she said. "These are the Elves from my part of the Life Realm. There are over 100, just so you know. And this is their leader." The older Elf nodded at Spyro. "And she is also my mother."

Spyro saw Whirlwind's eyes widen, but he wasn't too surprised. He only smiled at her.

"I'm glad I've finally met you, young one," Stealth Elf's mother said. "My daughter has told me much about you. And I am sorry that you cannot find your mate, but I am sure that we will find her soon." She smiled brightly at him.

"Thank you," Spyro said. He turned back to Stealth Elf. "So I guess that means you received no information about Cynder while you were there?"

"Unfortunately, no. But I did find something out that might be very crucial to this upcoming battle," she told him.

"What's the whole story?" Whirlwind asked.

"When I was near my home, I found some soldiers who were talking of us. They said that we had 8 strong members," she started explaining. "They mentioned you, Sunburn, Whirlwind, Camo, and me. And then they also mentioned Hex and how she nearly vanquished the monster known as the Dark Master. I don't know what to believe when it comes to that. And then there was the one last name they spoke of. And I can't believe what they said, adding her name with 'worst of all.'"

"Who was it?" Whirlwind asked, although she could already see who it might be.

"They said Cynder's name after saying 'worst of all,' and that's something that I just couldn't take! Cynder's so nice, and yet they were talking about her as if she was nothing!"

Spyro couldn't speak for a minute or two. But then he recovered and started again. "Well, let's get to that later," he said. "How did it all go when you arrived in your village? Did the soldiers get there before you could?"

"No. When I arrived, I had time to speak with my mother before one of the villagers yelled out that the soldiers had arrived. But when they did, they brought enhanced soldiers along with them. I was able to stop those they sent at me, although I did get this wound. One of them clawed me as I got out of the way, unfortunately."

"Did something happen after that?" Sunburn asked, coming up from behind Spyro and Whirlwind. Sonic Boom was with him, as was Camo, who took his place by Whirlwind.

"Yes," Stealth Elf said. "After the enhanced soldiers were dead, a few of the soldiers who weren't too scared of me came and played a recording. You're really not going to like this one. It was a recording of Kaos; he's joined forces with Vathek, and will remain with him during the battle. The recording told us of that, and then he said that if we manage to defeat him, he has something else in store for us. When he finished, there was this terrible roaring sound, as if a monster was with him."

Spyro didn't know what to make of the last part. A roaring noise that seemed to belong to a monster? None of it made any sense to him.

"How is that possible?" Sunburn exclaimed. "There's no way that's possible! How could Kaos have a monster with him, other than Vathek? We need to learn more? Is there someone we can send after Vathek or send out to find Kaos and see what they might be able to tell us?"

"No," Spyro told him sternly. "We can't do that. If we do that, then there is a very possible chance that they won't be able to escape, and we'll be one valuable member short. I need to make sure that we have every member of our team. Has the Underworld come just yet?"

"No," Hex answered. "But I talked to them earlier. They'll be coming up tomorrow. And then on Wednesday, we'll be there in Dragon's Peak, fighting against Vathek and Kaos."

"Yes, but we need to be there by tomorrow to be ready for the armies opposing us. We need to protect Ramses from his half-brother. Do you all understand me?" Spyro looked around at the Skylanders who had gathered and the Elves. They nodded. "Good. I'm going back to my treehouse to prepare. If you need me, just come there, okay? Tell the others of what's happening and what will be happening!"

As he left, Sonic Boom felt tears coming to her eyes, realizing who the roar had belonged to. She felt worse than ever now. She'd failed.

She'd allowed Cynder to leave and be corrupted by Kaos, and now he was planning something with her. She just hoped none of the others would have to deal with it

_I'm so sorry, Cyn_, she thought. _When I find you, and after I return you to normal, I hope you'll forgive me for what I did._

She looked over her shoulder and saw that Whirlwind and Camo were staring at her with mystified expressions on their faces. She could tell that they were wondering why she was about to cry. But she couldn't tell them. It wouldn't help either them or her.

"Is something wrong?" Camo asked.

"Yeah, are you okay?" Whirlwind said. "If you're thinking about us having not found Cynder yet, then don't worry; we will find her soon, I'm sure. If you ask me, Kaos probably kidnapped her and drugged her. As terrible as it makes me feel just to think of that, it's my best guess. But we will find her. Neither you, Spyro, or anyone else needs to worry."

"I know," Sonic Boom said quietly. "I just need to be alone for a little while. It's hard for me to think of her being gone."

"I know what you mean," Camo replied. "She's a great friend."

Sonic Boom smiled through her veil of coming tears and then flew off, leaving Camo and Whirlwind there to wonder.

Meanwhile Spyro was looking at his armor. He would be needing it for the battle. He'd laid it all out. But next to it was Cynder's. He couldn't take his mind off her. It was too hard to imagine his mate being gone from him. As long as it didn't turn out last time, though, that was all that mattered.

Trying not to fully think of the last time, he returned to putting his armor in a satchel, which he would bring with him to Dragon's Peak.

Hearing the sounds of someone landing on his balcony, he turned around to see Sunburn.

"Sunburn, what is it?" he asked.

"You might want to see this," he said. "It's not something normal, let me warn you."

Spyro picked up the satchel and flew out of the treehouse, Sunburn next to him. When they arrived at the Core, Spyro realized a whole army of skeletons and other Undead soldiers were coming towards them. Spyro didn't know what to do.

"Don't worry," he heard Whirlwind say from behind. He turned around to look at her. "They're the Undead soldiers Sunburn and I got to help us in the battle. They deserve it, if you ask me, especially after that mayor was killed."

Spyro nodded, understanding it more now.

When the largest of the skeletons appeared, Spyro guessed he was their leader.

"Hello," Spyro greeted.

"Hello," the skeleton replied back in a deep, manly voice. "My name is Spike. I am the leader of this army, and I have heard much of the Skylanders. Are you their leader?"

"Yes," Spyro said. "I am glad you are here. I have heard about what happened down in the Underworld. I am very sorry about that."

"Let us not speak of that," Spike said. "Let us join together instead and fight against our enemy. When is that we leave?"

"We're planning on leaving tomorrow, although it might be best today, just to be safe," Spyro explained. He realized some of the Skylanders around him had shocked expressions. "It's best to do this so Vathek does not come too close to Ramses before we arrive. And with Kaos involved now, it's much more dangerous, unfortunately. But we do have an army, just as they do, and Ramses will give us more soldiers to fight on our side. We need to do this, and we need to do it now! The fate of Dragon's Peak is in the balance! If we don't stop Vathek and Kaos now, we might as well kiss the freedom and peace here in Skylands goodbye!"

The other Skylanders realized he was right.

"Now, let's get over there, and when we arrive, we need to see what more we can do for the inhabitants and the soldiers. Are we missing anyone?"

Gill Grunt stepped up. "We were missing some, but they just arrived by boat, truth be told," he said. He pointed over to the beach, where hundreds of the Gillmen were standing.

Spyro realized his mouth was hanging open. He quickly closed it. "Okay, go and get them up here. I need to speak one last time, and when that's over, we're going on our way!" he commanded.

Gill Grunt did as he was told, and less than five minutes later, the Gillmen stood there, watching Spyro intently, some of them with expressionless faces and some with faces full of emotion.

"Okay!" Spyro yelled out, letting everyone in his midst know he was talking. "We are ready to leave, but first, I need all those who belong to another Realm to be with their leader! To clear it up, Skylanders will be with me, the Arkeyans with Omega, the Gillmen with your leader, the Underworld with yours, and so on. When we arrive at Dragon's Peak, we will join with Ramses' army, and by then we should be the largest army of warriors I've ever seen."

The Core of Light suddenly released a blast of energy at a large tree not far from it. A portal appeared, and Spyro knew it would take them to Dragon's Peak.

Cali was the one who'd activated the Core to make the portal. She was coming with them, while Hugo and Flynn would be staying behind.

Spyro knew he hadn't told most of them that he believed Cynder was gone, but he didn't care. He wasn't going to allow them to know, although he realized had noticed her absence.

Finding her was something Spyro wanted more than peace for Dragon's Peak. He wanted her back more than he wanted to stop Vathek and Kaos.

He and the Skylanders went through the portal, followed by the other armies from the other Realms.

Spyro found himself next to Sunburn on his right and Whirlwind on his left. Whirlwind smiled at Spyro, as she too knew how much he wanted Cynder. The smile was to assure him that they'd find her soon.

As they exited the portal, Spyro allowed his jaw to drop this time. He admired the beauty of the Realm, although he realized that soon it would all be ravaged by war, by fire and blood.

Trying to keep that fact out of his mind, Spyro and the others continued on towards the castle, where they would wait until the battle.


End file.
